Posted on 10/24/2008 6:33:46 AM PDT by jessduntno
Military Ballots Being Rejected in Virginia by Connie Hair
Fairfax County Registrar Rokey Suleman is disqualifying an overwhelming majority of the military federal write-in absentee ballots received in his county on the basis that no address had been given for those witnessing the voter signatures on the ballots. According to Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity and four former members of the military who held a press conference on Thursday, over 98 percent of these military absentee ballots in Fairfax County are being rejected.
The federal write-in absentee ballot is a federally mandated ballot that allows military service members and their dependents to cast an absentee ballot when they havent received a [state] ballot before the election, Herrity said. For them its a safety net. It allows them to vote if the mail truck hasnt reached his or her remote base in Iran or Afghanistan in time to cast a regular absentee ballot.
When asked how many ballots had been rejected, Herrity responded, Out of the 260 military federal write-in ballots received to date, only five included an address for the witness. The other 255 have been set aside for rejection.
You didn’t need to clarify, you coffee creamer counter you : {}
I understood you perfectly the first time and anyone who took it as anything other than what you clarified could only be construed as a hateful troublemaker. Oh, hey, isn’t that who precipitated the whole problem...hateful troublemakers.
I’m not near you, but I’ll do some digging to help you.
Virginia law does not require a witness address for any other type of absentee ballot. So, for example, a Virginia resident attending college out of state does not need to include her witness’ address on her absentee ballot envelope. But the Fairfax County Registrar is holding servicemembers, including those currently defending their country in war zones, to a much more exacting standard, requiring the witnesses who sign their FWABs to include their address.
To make matters worse, the Federal form (SF-186A) that is used for the FWAB does not have a space for witnesses to include their address. And the Department of Defense’s official Voting Assistance Guide, which it provides to servicemembers as an instruction manual for casting votes while overseas, does not tell servicemembers that they must include an address for their witness. The servicemember would thus have no way of knowing of this requirement.
Federal law does not allow this type of disparate treatment of servicemembers. The Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. § 1973ff-2, requires states to process FWABs “in the manner provided by law for absentee ballots in the State involved.” (emphasis added). In other words, the FWAB must be treated like any other absentee ballot under state law and may not be subject to more restrictive requirements. Yet that is precisely what is being done here.
http://www.soldiersperspective.us/2008/10/22/military-being-censored-in-virginia/
The following is a list of other classes of absentee ballots requiring the address of a witness in Fairfax County:
There. All done.
http://www.neptunuslex.com/2008/10/22/unreal-virginia/
SEPTEMBER
“We are definitely seeing increased demand, but this is a presidential election year,” said Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections. She noted that 250,000 registration forms normally last an entire year. “We are getting to the end of our pile, which his why we are being proactive in getting more printed.”
~~~~~~~~~
In addition, the State Board of Elections has partnered with real estate and apartment associations to remind people who recently have moved to update their address information. The state board is also holding call-in shows during news programs in which viewers can speak with registrars to check if they are registered.
Since Jan. 1, the state’s voter registration rolls have swelled by 211,000 people, to 4,796,855.
~~~~~~~~
Suleman said Fairfax has processed nearly 4,000 voter applications since Sept. 1.
Thanks for the feedback and for the link! Like your about page, too—very kick-ass.
Thanks for the pictures. The second one is one of my all time favorites.
Disgusting beyond words.
I sure hope SOME politician or lawyer takes up their cause.
Talk about disenfranchised voters.
But if you’re a draft dodger, or an illegal alien, or deceased, or named “asdfjkl,” your vote counts.
And many times they can’t tell you due to ops
...
Very special to see your name again :)
Is VA tossing any squirrely ACORN registered ballots?
Words fail me.
I’ll keep digging.
Thanks for the compliment. I’m cleaning today, so I cleaned it up a bit while I’m at it : )
Pretty stringent requirements to vote in a presidential election where the leading candidate is a foreign born Socialist not constitutionally eligible to hold the office.
Aren't these the same people that dmanded the "intent pf the voter" be devined?
Was the address asked for? How could only 5 of the 260 have theadress? Makes mo sense.
The Justice Dept. ought to immediately investigate and stop this cheating. If anyone should be allowed to vote without nit picking, it is the military. Bush should speak up as should McCain. Why they do not is still a mystery to me. The Dems love to cheat the real America out of a vote and this might be the most disgusting.
Great photo! Never a clearer choice.
Great sign!
Thanks, G. Hugs.
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