80% of Military Voted or Tried To -(Simpler Absentee Balloting)

[papau]

Thanks to a streamlined absentee balloting process and increased outreach efforts, " 80 percent of US military members voted — or tried to — in 2004, the Washington Post's Josh White reports. LINK

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/06/AR2005120601556.html

80% of Military Voted or Tried To
Pentagon Cites Simpler Absentee Balloting, More Outreach (program's Web site -- http://www.fvap.gov/ )

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 7, 2005; Page A23

They fight and they vote.

<snip>Nearly 80 percent of people in the uniformed armed services voted or attempted to vote in the last presidential election, according to a survey by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which is supervised by the Pentagon. The 2004 participation rate reflected an increase of 10 percentage points from 2000 and was far higher than last year's rate for the general public, which was 64 percent.

The increased participation coincided with efforts by both political parties to reach out to service members, who number more than 1.4 million. The participation survey -- the 17th such report -- included responses from more than 29,000 people but did not ask how people voted or for party affiliation.

The survey's estimates of voter participation do not indicate turnout but instead include overall estimates of those who voted absentee, voted in person or attempted to vote in the 2004 elections. For example, while 79 percent of those in the uniformed services participated in some way, 73 percent voted successfully.

Between 2000 and 2004, the Defense Department made determined efforts to ensure that all service members were aware of their opportunities to vote, whether they were stationed in the United States or deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials also tried to work with local jurisdictions to allow for electronic absentee balloting and allowed citizens to access an online application from a computer at any location.<snip>

For example, Chu said, the department was able to get more local jurisdictions to accept ballots by fax. The U.S. Postal Service also chipped in, offering to handle all voting materials going in and out of the country as express mail to cut down on transmission times and decrease delivery problems. Overseas, commanders were charged with ensuring that any ballots originating from battlefield bases in Iraq would make it to voting locations in the United States within five days -- less than half the time it would take regular mail -- and Chu said the department came close to that standard.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program, which is mandated by Congress, helps more than 6 million voters worldwide, including members of the uniformed services, federal civilian employees overseas, and citizens overseas who are not federal workers. In survey results sent to Congress in October, the program reported significant increases in voting participation rates in all categories.<snip>

[greiner3]

1. Abraham Lincoln;

First tried in en masse in 1864 in the middle of the Civil War. He and his advisors did not know how the troops would vote, for him or their old commander, or Linclon. The troops surprised Lincoln as they overwhelmingly voted for him, thus keeping him as president for a second term.

I know, through my children, a number of soldiers and their families. My children say that the mood is dour and the soldiers that they know are voting for Democrats or not voting. For what it's worth IMHO.

[papau]

2. That is also what I am hearing - the GOP officer corp will not drive in 06

I hope it is true

The respect up the line to officers is very much part of the life - this would be a very large change from the past.

Alternatively, the officers may be voting more Dem - but in the past the military was like a Fortune 50 GOP run corporation where to get ahead you said GOP things. Perhaps that is changing.