Officials: Use electronic voting from overseas as 'last resort'

  • Published
  • By Gerry J. Gilmore
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Some overseas servicemembers have another way to vote in the upcoming Nov. 2 elections, but they should use it as a last resort, a senior Defense Department official here said Sept. 1.

The alternative electronic voting method would apply only to servicemembers whose local voting laws allow it, said Charles Abell, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

Servicemembers stationed overseas who want to vote in stateside elections should still use the traditional absentee paper ballots sent by mail, Mr. Abell said.

The electronic transmission service calls for servicemembers to first scan their marked paper ballot into a computer primary data file, Mr. Abell said. The file is attached to an e-mail message that is sent stateside to Pentagon contractors. The e-mailed ballot is printed out by the contractors and is then faxed to local voting officials for tallying.

Eligible servicemembers are asked to use the new system only as "a court of last resort," Mr. Abell said. Defense Department officials would prefer that overseas servicemembers mail their absentee ballots to local officials, he said.

But electronically submitted balloting remains an option for those who cannot mail in their paper ballots because they have been deployed or because their ballot is late catching up to them, Mr. Abell said.

Servicemembers who elect to send their votes in electronically will have to sign a waiver acknowledging that the secrecy of their ballot cannot be guaranteed. That is why paper ballots remain "the most secure, the most traditional means of getting their vote in (and) getting it counted," Mr. Abell said.

If troops serving overseas do not receive a traditional paper absentee ballot from their stateside voting jurisdiction, Mr. Abell said another voting option is using a blank federal write-in ballot.

The message for Armed Forces Voting Week, slated for Sept. 3 to 11, is for servicemembers who have not yet requested their absentee ballots or requested to vote for this election to do so, Mr. Abell said. Overseas Voting Week, set for Oct. 11 to 15, reminds servicemembers that mailing their ballots in that week, or earlier, should help ensure that their votes get counted, he said.

Servicemembers serving either stateside or overseas with questions about how and when they should vote can contact their local voting assistance officer.