Will Overseas Military Have Their Votes Counted?

October 17, 2008
From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:

Will Overseas Military Have Their Votes Counted?

You may recall that in July columnist Robert Novak made the startling assertion Novak that many overseas military personnel might not have their votes counted in this year's election. Novak noted that according to the Federal Election Assistance Commission overseas and absentee military voting rates were only 5.5% for the 2006 mid-term elections. Based on these figures, some, including Judicial Watch, began to question whether the Department of Defense is doing what it should to make sure that members of the American Armed Forces stationed overseas will be able to cast their votes.

Here's a bit more from Novak's article, which can be read in its entirety here:

"Nobody who has studied the question objectively thinks there has been any improvement since 2006, and that is a scandal. Retired Marine Corps Capt. Charles Henry wrote in the July issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings Magazine: 'While virtually everyone involved . . . seems to agree that military people deserve at least equal opportunity when it comes to having their votes counted, indications are that in November 2008, many thousands of service members who try to vote will do so in vain.'"

Following the Novak article, on August 7, 2008, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Defense to obtain as much information as possible regarding the voting process for overseas military personnel.

The Department of Defense failed to respond to our request within legally mandated 20-day period forcing Judicial Watch to file a lawsuit on Wednesday. Here is a summary of the information we're after:

* All documents concerning or relating to the Department's procedure of providing members of the Armed Forces with Federal Post Card Applications;
* All documents concerning or relating to how the Department informs members of the Armed Forces of their right and ability to vote in the 2008 Federal Election;
* All documents concerning or relating to how the votes of members of the Armed Forces will be collected and counted for the 2008 Federal Election;
* All documents concerning or relating to the January 15, 2008 deadline for providing members of the Armed Forces with post card applications;
* All documents concerning or relating to Armed Forces Voter Week 2008; and
* All documents concerning or relating to the Department's implementation of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act with respect to the 2008 Federal Election.

It is beyond shameless that we are now less than three weeks out from the 2008 elections and we still do not know whether military personnel and their families stationed overseas will be able to exercise effectively their basic right to vote. What a scandal it will be if large numbers of our overseas military do not have their votes counted this Election Day. You can be sure we will continue to press the Defense Department to stop stonewalling so the American people can know with confidence that the voting rights of the American Armed Forces are protected. It is the least we can do for those who pay the price for our freedoms, which, of course, includes the right to vote. I'd be interested in hearing from military members and their families about this issue so please contact us with any concerns or experiences you'd like to share.