Redstate

the big problem is that every soldier must take the time to contact the city or town where they are registered and request that ballot. Then that physical ballot has to get to the GI in question and get mailed back to, hopefully, arrive in time to actually be counted.

I would recommend an electronic ballot sent through military channels and verified by such. If a hard paper ballot is really required they could be printed out at the soldier's unit HQ and distributed to him immediately and then sent through the mail system. This would save time in at least one direction.

As to the Democrats wanting to squelch the military vote. I wouldn't be surprised.

from Democrats about the Republicans during the 2000 and 2004 elections. As to Governor Rendell trying to disenfranchise military voters, the Pennsylvania governmental website seems to say otherwise, but who knows. http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=438896

DS has had a difficult time voting, even when not deployed. I believe in 2004, he actually had to cast a provisional ballot by fax, which the county elections department worked to get to him just in the nick of time on election day, because the absentee ballot they sent him SEVERAL weeks earlier had gotten lost in the military mail system. Time is the biggest enemy.

Perhaps they need to have each of the main bases in Iraq and Afghanistan actually BE election preparation/polling places where they gather ballots, instead of each soldier mailing their ballots back individually. They could set up months in advance and assist deployed military in registering AND requesting their ballots.

One thing is for sure, SOMETHING needs to be done.