[Rant] I was not able to vote this year

[ross549]

Sometimes, I really hate the United States Postal Service

[nlinecomputers]

Ross I thought that the Military was required to get the ballot to you NOT the USPS? So isn't this your Chain of Commands fault. Not that it helps....

[ross549]

Not quite, Nathan.The military cannot prevent me from voting. Such was the case today. I spent all day at work trying to figure out if I could vote via fax.

[Guest Paracelsus]

Not quite, Nathan.The military cannot prevent me from voting.

I think what Nathan meant was that the Millitary should be obliged to get the proper ballots to its forces on duty. Not leave it to the idividual to have to get them.

[ibe98765]

Ha! Well, NASA managed to arrange for that astronaut circling the Earth right now to vote by secure email.

[ross549]

I think what Nathan meant was that the Millitary should be obliged to get the proper ballots to its forces on duty.  Not leave it to the idividual to have to get them.

Good point.... and you are correct.I cannot prove either way if it was the USPS or the military post office on the base that let the mail sit around. It is called plausible deniability.

[longgone]

USPS delivers to the military post office after that it is up to the individual divisions mail po to distribute the mail witin the division ... or at least when I was in service it was that way....Sorry Adam ... better luck next time ...

[nlinecomputers]

I think what Nathan meant was that the Millitary should be obliged to get the proper ballots to its forces on duty.  Not leave it to the idividual to have to get them.

Correct that is exactly what I meant. Your CO, IMO, Fubar'd this and should have worked to get you your ballot. You shouldn't have to do this yourself.

[Guest Paracelsus]

Ha!  Well, NASA managed to arrange for that astronaut circling the Earth right now to vote by secure email.  

Tsk!, Tsk!!....No Link??Someone might have construed this as pure speculation.Voting From Space(You're Wecome in Advance)

[Pete!]

It's been a long time since I was in the Army, so things may have changed BUT.....Every municipality/district in the country prepared it's own ballots. There were more local races than the Military could possibly provide ballots for. The Presidency is generally NOT the only office in contention.Each unit, appointed a Voting Officer. He/She provided the members of the unit with an Application for Absentee Balot. Upon request, the officer may assist in completing the form and looking up the districts mailing address, answer questions & etc. It's up to the individual to meet deadlines, the mails (USPS & Military) to expedite delivery, and the municipality to respond in a timely manner. Once the ballot is received by the individual, the voting officer may be asked to assist again, but he/she has to be very careful not to influence the vote or even know how the individual voted. Then, the responsibility for timely voting returns to the individual and to the mails.

[lewmur]

Correct that is exactly what I meant.  Your CO, IMO, Fubar'd this and should have worked to get you your ballot.  You shouldn't have to do this yourself.

It's a moot point now, but the military can't be held responsible when the Gov of the state keeps the issue of what goes on the ballot tied up in court until it is to late. That's what Gov Rendell did in PA.

[ross549]

It's been a long time since I was in the Army, so things may have changed BUT.....Every municipality/district in the country prepared it's own ballots. There were more local races than the Military could possibly provide ballots for. The Presidency is generally NOT the only office in contention.Each unit, appointed a Voting Officer. He/She provided the members of the unit with an Application for Absentee Balot. Upon request, the officer may assist in completing the form and looking up the districts mailing address, answer questions & etc. It's up to the individual to meet deadlines, the mails (USPS & Military) to expedite delivery, and the municipality to respond in a timely manner. Once the ballot is received by the individual, the voting officer may be asked to assist again, but he/she has to be very careful not to influence the vote or even know how the individual voted. Then, the responsibility for timely voting returns to the individual and to the mails.

That is exactly what happened. I registered as an absentee voter this spring. I got the April election ballot, and the ballot for the primaries. The ballot for the general election went out late (Oct 2), and I received it on Nov 2. I checked the postmark. The issue this year was that it took 31 days for the ballot to get to my hands. At the most, accounting for the time it takes when the ballot hits the base until the time it gets to my hands should be no more than 2 weeks. Clearly someone dropped the ball from when it was mailed to the time I received it.

[Pete!]

Did you file a complaint with the IG?I won't help if the problem was with the USPS, but if it was the APO and they get a lot of complaints, it may be less likely to happen again.

[ross549]

It was the USPS. I am in Virginia.... so we are served by the regular mail delivery service.

[georgeg4]

it doesnt make any difference who's fault it was . this countries voting customs ( if that is the correct word ) imho stinks . here is a man risking life and limb to defend us and thay didnt give him the common courtesy of having his say in who will run our country and in effect command him to srisk said life and limb . ross i sympathize with you 100 percent . they should have gone out of their way to assure you your vote .

[siebkens]

ross549 - I feel your pain!! The first election that I was eligible to vote, I registered to vote in the town where I was attending college. They registered me in the wrong precinct - no car, too late by the time I found out - not able to get to the precinct where they registered me. :"> I have voted in every election since, but that first election many years ago still irks me. My candidate John Anderson lost by a landslide. I guess I just gotta let go!