Feds stationed overseas should act soon to participate in 2008 election

If you want a voice in the November presidential and congressional elections but you're stationed overseas, now would be a good time to register for an absentee ballot in the state where you're a legal resident.

And if you're having trouble figuring out how to do that from a combat outpost in Iraq or a forward operating base in Afghanistan or some other location far from the flagpole, you can visit the Web site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. The interactive site allows eligible users to request a state ballot as well as download a backup federal write-in absentee ballot that can be used instead if the state ballot fails to arrive in time.

Because states administer elections, the methods and requirements for absentee voters varies. The Federal Voting Assistance Program aims to demystify and simplify the process for the 6 million service members, military dependents and U.S. citizens abroad who fall under the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

"We want to make sure that all the information our voters need is readily available," said program director Polli Brunelli in a briefing for Pentagon reporters on Aug. 15. While Internet voting won't be available for at least a couple of years, many states now allow voters to submit materials by fax or e-mail, Brunelli said.

The mail, however, remains the primary method most voters use when voting absentee. To ensure more timely delivery of ballots, program officials have developed an expedited process with both the U.S. Postal Service and the military postal service for those ballots being mailed to overseas government addresses, said Scott Wiedmann, deputy director of the program. And if for some reason a would-be voter does not receive a ballot in time to return it to state election offices by the deadline, he or she can mail in a federal write-in absentee ballot instead.

If an individual receives a state ballot after he or she has mailed in the federal write-in ballot, the individual still may mail in the state ballot (which would include state and local offices and referendums). "Local election offices have procedures in place so only one ballot would count," Wiedmann said.

Federal election officials aren't sure how many military members actually vote. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is required by law to collect data from states regarding the number of ballots states sent to and received by military members and citizens overseas following general elections for federal office. The survey report from the 2006 election showed that less than 16.5 percent of the estimated 6 million potentially eligible voters sought to participate in the election, and only 5.5 percent of those individuals actually cast ballots.

The commission cautioned that the data was incomplete and replete with improbable information, largely because many states and jurisdictions fail to track mailed ballots adequately.

Wiedmann said a random sample survey of military members following the 2004 election showed that 73 percent of service members voted in person or absentee. "We're working with [the Election Assistance Commission] to try to make sure that the data is as sound as possible for the 2008 election, as well as to be sure our numbers are sound so that as we go forward we have the best information possible to continue to make improvements," he said.