Today, Bud Day, Orson Swindle, and a bunch of other high-profile veterans sent a letter to New York election officials about the problems faced by active duty military in exercising their right to vote in the NY-20 special congressional election that is currently in recount. We have written about this issue before here at Redstate. The letter is pretty hard hitting:
Every effort should be made to ensure that every vote cast by members of the U.S. armed forces serving overseas is counted - in this election and in every election. But in New York, only minimal steps were taken by state and Federal authorities to get the ballots overseas early enough to have a chance to make it back in time to be counted. Votes cast by men and women serving in our armed forces overseas may not be counted because of this failure. That is shameful, and an embarrassment to us as a nation. We can and must do better.
The complete letter is after the jump.
An Open Letter on the New York Special Congressional Election
April 9, 2009
To whom it may concern:
We the undersigned have had the honor to serve our country abroad during times of conflict and danger. We have all been overseas during elections - a time when we exercise one of the most basic rights we cherish and defended as Americans - the right to cast our votes with our fellow Americans.
We remember from our own service how difficult it was to get our own votes counted, as we were stationed in remote combat zones and other parts of the world. Ballots didn’t reach us in time, or didn’t make it back to our homes in time to be counted, and were discarded.
Today, in New York, yet another close election may be decided by a few absentee ballots cast by those serving their country in far-flung parts of the globe. This race is being fought out on ground that saw some of the pivotal moments of our early history as a nation. American patriots won desperate battles for our independence at Saratoga - now part of the 20th New York Congressional District. Those patriots fought for rights they believed to be theirs by right of birth - the same rights and freedoms that their descendants now protect on our behalf around the world. But these modern patriots may be denied one of the most basic rights that we enjoy as Americans - to cast their vote and have it be counted - because the same problems we faced during our service have not been solved.
Every effort should be made to ensure that every vote cast by members of the U.S. armed forces serving overseas is counted - in this election and in every election. But in New York, only minimal steps were taken by state and Federal authorities to get the ballots overseas early enough to have a chance to make it back in time to be counted. Votes cast by men and women serving in our armed forces overseas may not be counted because of this failure. That is shameful, and an embarrassment to us as a nation. We can and must do better.
We urge you to ensure that every one of those votes be counted. It is the least we can do for those who answered the call to serve, who defend rights that we take for granted, and who represent the best in all of us.
Edward H. Martin, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret); POW, Vietnam
John G. Waggener, Major General, US Army (Ret); Combat Engineer, Vietnam
Bud Day, U.S. Air Force (Ret); Medal of Honor recipient; POW, Vietnam
Richard A. Pittman, Marine Corps; Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam
George Lisicki, U.S. Army, Vietnam veteran; Past National Commander-in-Chief, VFW
Clifford Olson, U.S. Navy; Past National Commander-in-Chief, VFW
Paul A. Spera, Past National Commander-in-Chief, VFW; U.S. Army, Vietnam
Thomas A. Bolinder, Marine infantry sergeant, Vietnam
Paul Chevalier, Marine Sergeant Major (ret), Vietnam
Mike Cronin, U.S. Navy (Ret); POW, Vietnam
To whom it damn well better concern...
stang Thursday, April 9th at 5:18PM EDT (link)should be the greeting. “To whom it MAY concern” is discretionary.
“Are you concerned Bob?”
“Not in the least Jane.”
“Every great sin ought to rouse a great anger. Mob law is better than no law at all. A community which rises in its wrath to punish with misdirected anger a great wrong is in a healthier moral condition than a community which looks upon its perpetration with apathy and unconcern.”
Lyman Abbott
“Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience, and are left to the common refuge which God hath provided for all men against force and violence.”
John Locke
If I get a letter from Bud Day
Socrates Thursday, April 9th at 5:44PM EDT (link)Richard Pittman, and three past Commandants of the VFW, it’s just about the only thing I’m going to pay attention to that week.
In fact, if a retired Marine Sergeant Major told me there’s a chance I was not expending enough effort in some small area, it would have about the same result.
But then, I would have made sure the troops got to vote first.
–
Gone 2500 years, still not PC.
We've seen these games played all over....
JLenardDetroit Thursday, April 9th at 7:35PM EDT (link)The 2008 Election with Military Vote suppression in VA (Sorry, link now dead here at RS - if someone knows how/where the link moved let us know) and, of course, countless other Election games with Military votes in FL counties.
(RS:Help) (JLD) (Hollyweird) (Brain-deads) (SPIN-cycle) (Obamaocare) (Party of kNOw) (Conservatism) (TEApeats) (respectful) (Reco) (Quotes) (removeRINOs.com) (Merry RSmas)
+ 0bama Lies & your Bank acct will Die! (4/15 Truthers)
+ Heil “O” Hell No Obamao is NOT MY PRESIDENT! “No U won’t”
+ I want “O” to FAIL (here, here, & whole Diary (Ofail) here, is why)
“The first Liberal was Satan” - a Rush caller (other Quotes)
Yes, the VA Milatary ballots were mailed late
Scope Thursday, April 9th at 8:33PM EDT (link)McCain had to file a lawsuit in VA because of the supposed “oversight.” By the very late date that the court decided to inclued the military ballots, the only race it hurt was for Virgil Goode. The rampant voter fraud with ballots lost in trunks of cars, and the districts “forgetting to send all of their returns” gave the election to Periello, who is a proven Liberal personified.
Question
dld1717 Thursday, April 9th at 9:27PM EDT (link)Anyone can go on NY State Election site and see the number of military ballots requested and returned and they also do the same for other federal voters abroad.
Yet, the number of ballots requested and returned by federal voters is pretty high while number for military ballots is low so what gives?
Probably has a lot to do with military mail
Hooah_Mac Thursday, April 9th at 11:17PM EDT (link)If it takes a week for a typical letter to get from point a to point b, you have to add a week or more for military delivery.
Military postal workers are great, but because of the way units are dispersed and the various precautions that are taken, mail simply takes a lot longer to get to military people overseas.
“You can call yourself a Republican, but if you’ve lost the support of Fred Thompson, you are an unholy thing that will be destroyed by a rain of fire.” -IMAO
More than that
Soren Dayton Friday, April 10th at 8:39AM EDT (link)Military ballots were sent out late. The Department of Justice had to file a lawsuit against the State Board of Elections … controlled by Democrats …
Military ballots are now due by Monday.
In general though, it is a scandal how our system systematically disenfranchises military voters. It is something that we all need to fix.