Disgrace: DOJ Fails to Protect Military Voting Rights
I must note that Ms. Bashir is not at fault, and she is a dedicated and committed lawyer. She didn’t develop this inept investigative methodology; her superiors did. It is the same plan used every two years at DOJ. In 2008 we know it cost our nation about 17,000 wasted military votes. There is no way to calculate how many thousands of military votes were wasted in previous elections because of the investigative shortcomings.
“On September 30, 2008,” Bashir notes, “I spoke with Vickie Williams” at the Virginia State Board of Elections. Williams was in charge of monitoring the mailing of military ballots. You’ll note this conversation occurred only 35 days before the election.
Until Congress stepped in last year, the statute set no mailing deadline, and DOJ was only requiring ballots to be mailed 30 days in advance. The Military Postal Service Agency had recommended 60 days, but bureaucrats inside DOJ were stuck in their ways and refused to budge from the 30-day tradition despite calls from all quarters to do so. In a rebuke to the bureaucrats, the new law now requires 45 days.
And what was the extent of the DOJ’s efforts to figure out if the thousands of Virginians serving overseas had their ballots mailed in time? On September 30, “Ms. Williams assured me that all of Virginia’s localities had sent absentee ballots to all UOCAVA voters who had requested an absentee ballot up until that date. She told me that she would send a follow-up email to [the Pentagon] with the specific dates when each locality had mailed such ballots,” the affidavit states.
Ms. Williams assured that all was well. Except it wasn’t. Actually, many ballots in Virginia were mailed overseas just a couple of weeks before the election. There was no chance they would ever be returned in time to be counted.
On Halloween 2008, the DOJ learned they had gotten a trick courtesy of the Virginia State Board of Elections when Ms. Williams called back with some bad news. She told the DOJ that her system never really could “provide the information requested” such as “the specific dates when each locality in Virginia had mailed such ballots.” Nobody actually knew what was going on — not Virginia, and obviously not the Justice Department either. The election was just four days away and the witches brew of electoral catastrophe was boiling.
One wonders what was happening from September 30 until October 31. Will the DOJ use this same broken system again in 2010? I’d suggest the DOJ look outside the bureaucracy, to the private sector, where experts on systems management exist that can fix this mess and prevent it from happening again. Turning inward to the bureaucracy for answers is likely to yield the same sorry results. But I’ll bet virtually nothing changes because a bureaucrat’s first instinct is to deny that a problem exists.
On November 3, the day before the election, the McCain campaign — unable to convince the DOJ it needed to act, and fast — filed a lawsuit to protect military voters. And not until November 14, 2008, did the DOJ do what it should have done weeks before — file papers in court to protect Virginia voters serving overseas in the military. Eventually the United States took the place of the McCain campaign and litigated the case.
Remember, this same mess played out all over the country, but the whip-smart investigative methods of the DOJ never could detect it. Seventeen thousand trashed military ballots prove it.
Amazingly, the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) is continuing to advocate positions in the ongoing (yes, ongoing) litigation which are hostile to military voting rights. Those responsible for these disgraceful positions should be removed, or Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli should be allowed to assume management of the defense. Cuccinelli does not suffer fools gladly, particularly ones seeking to make it harder for soldiers and sailors to vote. No doubt he would settle the case immediately and agree to protect our servicemembers fully.
But the single Bashir affidavit, filed in the single military voting case arising out of the 2008 election where 17,000 military votes were trashed, tells you everything you need to know.
While our soldiers patrol dangerous frontiers in Korea and south Asia, looking hard for any signs of danger, the DOJ has a very different approach when it comes to detecting compliance by states with federal law. Airmen glued to radar screens and sailors listening hard to the sounds from towed sonar arrays have a right to expect better from bureaucrats in Washington. They put their lives on the line for us. The DOJ should do more than take the word of Vickie Williams at the Virginia SBE that all is well, all is quiet, no problems to report. And the DOJ should respond with overwhelming force when signs appear that states aren’t ready to comply with the new federal 45-day mailing mandate. Requests for waivers from the 45-day mandate should be denied. In fact, requests for waivers should trigger a DOJ investigation.
We owe these heroes no less.
As the saying goes its not who votes that count but who counts the votes…
This issue is but a minor one in the big picture. You have states that won’t even obey the direct written requirements of the US Constitution by checking out to see if a candidate meets the 3 requirements set forth by the US Constitution. Nowadays just checking 1 out of 3 seems good enough.
If you can’t even get ppl to enforce what is plainly and directly written in the US Constitution(highest law of the land) then how do you expect anyone to care about such a trivial issue of a tiny 17k votes being thrown out…
How about all the votes that were counted that shouldn’t have been? How do you know when you even fill out the forms and go into the booth that that vote is counted? You don’t and with electric voting its not even possible to be sure about if ppl even went to the booth to vote or not.
Once again end run is, if you can’t get the plainly and directly written requires of the US Constitution enforced then who cares about minor issues like this… not only will they keep happening but they will be happening more and more.
robotech master said ::
Most respectfully………..
EXCUSE ME..?! You SERIOUSLY didn’t just say that, did you..?
These men and women put their very Lives on the line every day in the name of our country.. The ABSOLUTE VERY LEAST others among us can do is not belittle THEIR right to have their precious VOICES heard……
Too.
It’s letting our Military know there are still people out here who give a damn about them each and every second of the day with this being just one of a myriad of ways for expressing our fondness and RESPECT.
And coincidentally in the process of fighting for our Military’s voting rights, those involved are also delving deeper and deeper into whatever the [frip] is going on with our DOJ these days……
Too, too.
To the author, thank you dearly for covering this topic.. Is one I’ve pushed myself repeatedly on Twitter, especially.. Awesome to see it addressed, wow, on #MilitaryMon, now that I think about it..
PS.. Looking forward to many more of the same.. :hint, hint, WINK:
~
Yes, compared with the bigger issues of millions of fraudulently cast votes, complete disregard for constitutional requirements for candidates, etc. etc, failing to have ballots sent to 17k people (even 17k military people) out of the 100 million or so total ballots is a minor issue.
It’s still a major issue, but not when compared to all that.
And of course even if those had been sent out, quite likely they’d not have been counted for whatever excuse the counters could come up with (creased forms, wrong colour markings, whatever).
J.T.
You obviously aren’t seeing the WHOLE picture. Yes, in the context of 100+ million votes it doesn’t look like much. but that was 17,000 votes FROM 1 STATE. Extrapolate that out to potentially 50 states and you are talking about over 750,000 votes. Would that make a big enough difference to you??
Second, you are arguing about the significance to a NATIONAL ELECTION. Those military voters also did not get to vote in their LOCAL elections. I dare say that 17,000 votes in state races and the corresponding loss of votes in smaller districts could make significant differences.
So, yes, it is a significant issue. You thinking seems to tend to the myopic and as a result broadly misses the whole picture and OVERALL affect.
And how long did you serve in the military? I live in a city in Texas where the race for mayor ended in a tie. I called a friend of mine and asked if she voted, and she said she didn’t have time but didn’t think it would matter. Our candidate lost the runoff election in June, and now we have an “Obama clone” as our mayor (not black, just not qualified!).
If it weren’t for the US Military you may not even have the right to vote, and if you think there’s something wrong with country, as I do, then get involved, much like the people who make up the Tea Parties have done.
I’m involved in serveral groups, because I didn’t serve 21 years to see my Constitution shredded by a bunch of socialists who want to ruin our country!!
Plato said it best,
“Those who do not wish to be involved in politics, are destined
to be ruled by their inferiors”.
Couldn’t agree with you more. You go bro!!!!
You may think it’s a small issue but I don’t, since my Secretary of State has asked to be excluded! The same Secretary of State that refused to count ballots from our soldier overseas in the 2008 election!
All that this law is asking is to have the ballots sent to all our service men and women 45 DAYS before an election! The men and women SERVING this country deserve more than a slap in the face with their State saying “you’re not worth it!”, politics as usual.
Heroes have families; many of our heroes also have spouses. How may of them can get on board, to make sure their husbands and wives are not denied their votes?
If the servicemen could just convince the DOJ that they were illegal aliens the problem would be solved in a heartbeat. Each and every one of them would be provided with as many ballots as they desired, and they would be delivered and returned by a court-ordered supersonic transport.
Everything you said PLUS the ballots would already be marked for the Dem candidate….it just makes it so much easier for busy military personnel.
Mr. Adams you are a warrior for justice battling in an unjust world of hypocrites and liars who would be so loathsome as to deny the votes of our brave soldiers, marines, and sailors. This story sickens me. God only knows how the 2008 election would have turned out in places like Minnesota, not to mention Virginia, and the nation for that matter. Please continue to shed light on the neglect of DOJ and others who undermine our society through bias and deception.
I suspected these shenanigans were going on back in my service days. The way I handled it was by having the absentee ballot sent to my home. My mother then relayed it to me in Okinawa. I’d cast my vote, bundle the whole thing back into another big envelope and mail it back to her. She then put a stamp on it and mailed it from a stateside mailbox.
I find it absolutely astonishing that someone in the DOJ, Congress, the Pentagon, all of these folks who are supposed to be so smart (well, lets just say they are in charge) can’t seem to find some way, in this day of rapid communications, to get our servicemen and women’s votes to the proper place in a timely manner. Sounds like they either don’t care, or worse, don’t want to.
I really do not think that this is news. When I was in the Navy ’85-’90, I was told by my fellow ‘shipmates’ not to bother because “they never count absentee ballots”. So, for those five years I never voted. Nothing has changed in 25 years and back then there was no outrage over the fact that these votes were never counted.
There should have been outrage by the country and you should have been outraged personally. This is not trivial, it strikes to the heart of our democracy that those fighting for our freedoms are not free to vote.
Feel free to email Vickie Williams at Virginia SBE and ask her if she’s actually going to do her job this year.
vickie.williams @sbe.virginia.gov.
Never post your email online if you don’t want to be contacted I always say…
OKAY!!! Am I the only one emailing???? vickie.williams @sbe.virginia.gov
I am not the least bit surprised by this, this president and his cronies seem almost hostile toward the military. A president who spends more time with labor leaders than his top military men and women? A person who in year 2 delegates the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown to the VP? Someone more interested in protecting the reputation of the Ft. Hood gunman that the rights of his victims? He does not care enough about this group, of course he isn’t going to care about protecting their voting rights. He is spending his time trying to figure out how to revive ACORN, to protect the rights of the dead and fictitious voters for Obama.
“almost”?
Absolutely disgraceful. Our men and women of the armed forces stationed around the world putting their life and limb on the line to protect our freedoms and they don’t receive preferential handling of their vote? What else does the government do well? Was it intentional like the convicts voting in Minnesota to throw the election? Maybe the Attorney General will investigate? Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!
My absentee ballot arrived in Japan after the election of Jimmy Carter. They do not care about the military vote. They never did.
Actually, I think they care a lot. They deliberately cause delays because most servicemen and servicewomwn will vote Conservative.
Name names so we can call for resignations. Who is the bureaucrat who was in charge of protecting military voters inside the DOJ? They should be hauled in front of Congress to answer for their malfeasence. After get the once over, they should be stripped of their office and benefits for good. In the USMC, we had ways to deal with shirkers.
I know that service advocates have been trying to secure voting rights for military personnel at least since the Truman administration. My father (a career officer) recalled that the 1952 election was the first in which service members overseas could vote absentee. By the Vietnam era, we each maintained a home of record, and were supposed to vote there, although some of those jurisdictions were very grudging about it.
So now this. I personally think the only effective solution to disenfranchising service members is to make failure to tally their votes a crime under the Voting Rights Act — no loopholes, no excuses. Of course, after the Obama administration’s relaxed response to the Black Panther case, I’m not betting the farm that you could get local election officials off their duffs, even with the threat of jail.
Minnesota is an utter disgrace. their ballot required a signature of a witness who was a Minnesota resident and registered to vote. My wife and I grew up 20 miles apart. We both had our votes trashed because they were not witnessed by a person who was on the voter roll for the presinct where the vote was tallied. Because we were in adjacent counties, we lost our right to vote while we defended the rights of the nation. I know of many Minnesota service men who lost out because there was no witness from their presinct.
A National Guard unit might get lucky, but don’t count on it.
I do agree that the procedures need to be fixed, and I am appalled that the missing 17000 votes didn’t get investigated (and I am more and more appalled by the DOJ with every column).
Can the military do anything from it’s side? It seems that there are state issues (Minnesota…that’s crazy, surely a ranked officier verifying ID should be sufficient), but surely in the days of FedEx and UPS, the return shipment could be sped up? I’m not saying use those companies, but take something from their operations in terms of consolidation and fast shipping. I’d be happy to know my taxes were paying for improving the voting process for overseas personnel.
Or do security issues truly slow things down that much (I honestly don’t know)? This is assuming the ballots get overseas in a reasonable time frame of course.
The military postal system is authorized to use Express Mail for the return of balloting materials. All balloting material is treated by everyone in the military postal system as being of the absolute highest priority mail. Failure to forward balloting material must be reported immediately. UPS and FedEx do not cover every military installation, but the MPSA does. Trust me, you don’t want to be the military postal worker who delays any ballot – the consequences are quite severe.
And yes, I work as a supervisor the the military postal system.
Out of twenty years in the Air Force, from 1976 to 1996, I spent 14 of those years overseas, and sent in an absentee ballot without fail, every scheduled election. I seriously doubt that my vote was ever counted.
In the 10 years I spent in the Navy, every single year I requested an absentee ballot from the state of NY, it always arrived at my base in CT after election day.
It is a shame the votes are not counted. But one just needs to look into the system of how the votes are counted and realize that it is likely not a big deal. Before you think I am some liberal idiot I am not. It seems that in every election the margin of victory for the candidate that wins is usually greater than the number of absentee ballots sent in. So if one candidate is ahead by 35,000 votes counting the next 17,000 can not change the election. Now I am sure there are some that will be close enough for this to matter but it seems these are not that common. One might wonder how many votes were not counted in the election of franken, in addition to all of the extra votes that were counted.
One reason for this to hold true is the demographics of our population. Our military folks make up a small percentage of the population that votes, and they are all registered in different parts of the country. It might be interesting to see what effect their votes might have if they were all registered to vote in the same district in Virginia for example.
Rob – it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t affect the outcome of elections. Securing the right to vote for our servicemembers has nothing to do with who wins and election; it has everything to do with giving those who would die for us a voice in the process. The federal law places absolutely no relevance on whether or not military ballots would tip the balance in a given contest. All that matters is that those serving overseas have the right to participate. Saying their rights should depend on whether their votes tip the balance is not what the law requires.
“Before you think I am some liberal idiot I am not. It seems that in every election the margin of victory for the candidate that wins is usually greater than the number of absentee ballots sent in.”
J.Robb: What a load of total crap. Just look at elections in Washington State and Minnesota. So if you aren’t a “liberal idiot”, what kind of “idiot” are you? J. Christian Adams is right and every legal vote in every election should count. Further more any election with provable fraud should have the results nullified and another election held. As an example: When someone finds a few hundred votes in the trunk of a car that turn the election in someone else’s favor everybody should be looking for fraud.
Since the electronic communications networks (aka INTERNET !!!) have been INVENTED and BUILT by the military, why in 2010 the American Warriors cannot yet simply vote through a military secure network ? It would be quite easy to implement…it is already there !
Sherab, making a networked application that is secure enough to allow voting is not as simple as it might appear.
Why not? We do it every day when we use an ATM.
Precisely. For example, every single Navy sailor and member of the Marine Corps has a government-issued CAC card. Why can’t they use their CAC card to log into the SECURE NMCI Network to cast their ballot? To use the CAC card, you have to know the PIN number attached to it. And it’s two numbers longer than an ATM PIN number. Track it through the CAC card. It sure as heck would cut down on voter fraud.
It would seem that since the left view members of the military as oppressed minorities who are being taken advantage of because they are uneducated they would be just the type of votes they constantly seek.
Wonder how many of our brave lads and ladies in uniform support the Obamachine’s objectives?
Not too many, I would imagine…..
Remember, it’s not just the tens of thousands of military men and women overseas who vote absentee ballot. There are tens of thousands of military spouses who vote. How many military dependant votes were discarded also? I remember when we were posted in Germany and I didn’t receive my absentee ballot until 4 days before the Bush/Gore election.
It’s sad to me that there are people as dumb as the audience piping in here. Yesterday, the largest military leak in media history occurred. Within the 90,000 leaked reports, are reports that US aid to Pakistan during the Bush and Obama administrations were wasted as Pakistan colluded with the Taliban. Our drones, upon which so much of our strategy is based, are poorly designed and ineffective, and, of course, that it has nearly become standard operating procedure to kill all Afghans that may pose a threat rather than following rules of engagement. That last part I’m sure will raise no eyebrows here; they are Muslims, aren’t they? But if the philosophies that are bandied about here in lieu of actual thinking are in any way heartfelt, you would be up in arms. You won’t hear about it here, however. They lead you around by the nose and tell you what to direct your rage at. And you can’t direct at this, despite the fact that it encapsulates everything that you all claim to stand against, because it equally implicates Republicans. It’s beyond sad.
You either posted to the wrong thread or have ADHD.
Way to stay on topic…
Dying (and becoming a ghost) must have robbed you of your ability to think critically.
Explain, please, precisely what your screed above has to do with the issue raised by Mr. Adams.
Please make your answer both cogent and logical, if you can manage it.
Dear Gould’s Ghost,
I am curious about your ‘name’; however, I’ll try to speak to ‘(your) point’ here. Oh, and congrats on your clever phrasing – “cul de sac issues” and “cadre of imbeciles”. Very impressive. However, they could be used more effectively if they were employed with a less angry, judgmental, and antagonistic perspective. Although it is entirely possible that this is the limit of your aim. If so, my response will bore you; because my aim is to respectfully respond to your attack with an honest attempt to ‘bridge the gulf’ which separates the ‘parties’. (By the way, “cadre” is inadequate to describe ‘we’ “imbeciles”.)
In your first post, you begin and end with being “sad”. There are many ways to overcome sadness; but, I very much doubt that it ever involves an ‘angry, judgmental, and antagonistic’ attitude. I recommend sincere humility and daily prayer – Wisdom 7:7; “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.”
Next; you seem to be calling ‘the audience’; of which, incidentally you are a part; “dumb”, “idiots”, and “retarded”. Some here very well may be; but, honestly now, ‘Gould’s Ghost’, will the sound of your arrogance serve to educate anyone. Oh, I know; that may not be ‘your aim’. Check out Proverbs 3:7; “Be not wise in your own eyes”.
Now, on the subject of “cul de sac issues”. If you consider the subject of preserving the individual’s right to their vote so unimportant, then why bother commenting here much less deigning to read the story or the comments posted by ‘idiots’?
As to ‘letting retards out themselves’; I’ve always liked the quote; “It’s better to remain silent and be presumed ‘dumb’ than to open ones mouth (in this case ‘pen’) and remove all doubt”. May I suggest meditating on that one before your next telling tirade?
You said, “They lead you around by the nose…”. Exactly who do you think ‘they’ are? And, more importantly, who do you think ‘we’ are. Your rant exposes how little you truly KNOW who you are yelling at. You would do yourself a service to seek the truth to that question; as ‘we’ are not all that bad. Not all, anyway.
You do appear to be up on certain current events; however, you’d be wise to question your own sources; and, perhaps edit them. I suggest you take a deep breath and realize the wisdom in the phrase, “You can not see the forest for the trees”. The big picture may surprise you.
You go on to insinuate that ‘we’ are unsympathetic to innocent Muslims killed in this dark war. Really? REALLY?
Next time it would be helpful and appreciated if you’d do as LOL said, “stay on topic”.
I have given you far more respect than your under-informed, disrespectful, and poorly targeted attack deserved; but, I made the effort because of the proportion of the apparent need.
Actually, there are threads about the Wikileaks issue. This wouldn’t be one of them, but there are such threads.
You veer like this often enough to make me wonder if this is an intentional red herring.
(slaps a bill on the table) I’ll put five on “red herring,” Charlie.
I say we send Gould’s Ghost over there to befriend the Taliban, and win them over. He obviously doesn’t know anything about anything that happened in previous wars, especially against enemies so ruthless, so it should be entertaining to see the outcome.
Can anyone tell GG whose tactic it was that has embraced drone usage to the extent we are using them today? He is so smart, but chances are, he doesn’t know. It would destroy his little worldview to know that his hero, Barry Soetoro, has been pushing drone usage so hard.
What a pompous douche. “It’s sad to me that blah, blah, blah.” Yeah, you need to get a pair.
It makes no difference to me wether it was Obama or Bush, Ferd. My point was that you are idiots easily led by your hatred into cul de sac issues that are neither important nor sensible. But really, you’re making that point so much better than I could. Thanks for that, I do get tired of pointing out how retarded you all are and I sometimes forget that the best way to out a retard is to let him/her speak. You’ve spoken, I’m sure your cadre of imbeciles will start hunting and pecking their way through their entire glossary of internet acronyms now.
Well Gould’s Ghost, are you saying that the right to have your vote counted in the US is not important? We DO think this one of the most important rights we have as citizens. The fact that you do not think such makes you the idiot. I love it when Socialist and Commies try to convince us that voting is not important.
It isn’t the ability to enforce the law but the desire. Those in the bureaucracy know the general percentage of military that are conservative and liberal. If the percentages were reversed you can bet that the full force of the federal government would come crashing down to support there right to vote.
Some of the blame also falls on the DoD and the units involved. I am stationed on a submarine and one of my collateral duties is voting officer. We will likely be deployed from before state absentee ballots get sent out until well after the winners take office. For us, that means almost no contact with the outside world, and definitely no way to get mail out once we leave.
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing some research into how the crew can vote, and the solution is the FWAB, federal write-in absentee ballot, which we will have to send in a little earlier than usual. Apparently these used to require notarization, but that’s no longer the case as of this election.
I only know the Navy’s instruction with regards to ensuring that service members have a chance to vote, but I assume it’s similar for everyone else. The website to go to is http://www.fvap.gov. If you know anyone stationed overseas or who will be gone during this voting season, make sure they know about that website. It’s fairly good at explaining the process, though it assumes you’ll receive the state absentee ballot in time to mail it back, so it requires some thinking ahead (ie, register for the absentee ballot, then send in the FWAB in a timely manner).
Most of the crew is getting pretty sick of me telling them to vote often (or is it early? I get those two mixed up), but I’ll keep pushing it until we head out. And this avoids creating a problem for the DoJ to ignore.
LOL!! Tens of thousands of military ballots get tossed every year. There are data that is required to be on them that members get told will be added by election officials back in the States – and then they don’t get counted as that data is not on them. They get to the members too late, not at all, or are lost, or otherwise delayed until long after the election is over.
Anyone who actually thought Al Gore was even close in Florida in 2000 needs therapy. The military ballots that got tossed would have put Gore thousands behind.
I can’t even say it is always the Democrats that are to blame as just as often corrupt incumbent Republicans screw the system to keep from getting booted in the primaries by a couple of hundred disgruntled soldiers.
Dear Gould’s Ghost,
I am curious about your ‘name’; however, I’ll try to speak to ‘(your) point’ here. Oh, and congrats on your clever phrasing – “cul de sac issues” and “cadre of imbeciles”. Very impressive. However, they could be used more effectively if they were employed with a less angry, judgmental, and antagonistic perspective. Although it is entirely possible that this is the limit of your aim. If so, my response will bore you; because my aim is to respectfully respond to your attack with an honest attempt to ‘bridge the gulf’ which separates the ‘parties’. (By the way, “cadre” is inadequate to describe ‘we’ “imbeciles”.)
In your first post, you begin and end with being “sad”. There are many ways to overcome sadness; but, I very much doubt that it ever involves an ‘angry, judgmental, and antagonistic’ attitude. I recommend sincere humility and daily prayer – Wisdom 7:7; “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.”
Next; you seem to be calling ‘the audience’; of which, incidentally you are a part; “dumb”, “idiots”, and “retarded”. Some here very well may be; but, honestly now, ‘Gould’s Ghost’, will the sound of your arrogance serve to educate anyone. Oh, I know; that may not be ‘your aim’. Check out Proverbs 3:7; “Be not wise in your own eyes”.
Now, on the subject of “cul de sac issues”. If you consider the subject of preserving the individual’s right to their vote so unimportant, then why bother commenting here much less deigning to read the story or the comments posted by ‘idiots’?
As to ‘letting retards out themselves’; I’ve always liked the quote; “It’s better to remain silent and be presumed ‘dumb’ than to open ones mouth (in this case ‘pen’) and remove all doubt”. May I suggest meditating on that one before your next telling tirade?
You said, “They lead you around by the nose…”. Exactly who do you think ‘they’ are? And, more importantly, who do you think ‘we’ are. Your rant exposes how little you truly KNOW who you are yelling at. You would do yourself a service to seek the truth to that question; as ‘we’ are not all that bad. Not all, anyway.
You do appear to be up on certain current events; however, you’d be wise to question your own sources; and, perhaps edit them. I suggest you take a deep breath and realize the wisdom in the phrase, “You can not see the forest for the trees”. The big picture may surprise you.
You go on to insinuate that ‘we’ are unsympathetic to innocent Muslims killed in this dark war. Really? REALLY?
Next time it would be helpful and appreciated if you’d do as LOL said, “stay on topic”.
I have given you far more respect than your under-informed, disrespectful, and poorly targeted attack deserved; but, I made the effort because of the proportion of the apparent need.
But the DOJ can’t go around aggressively enforcing the voting rights of military people. They have a nasty habit of voting for republicans. Let them keep themselves busy dying for our country, rather than wasting their time voting for those nasty republicans. Far better to take care of the voting rights of black people, who more sensibly vote for democrats.
Of course this sort of thing happened under Bush too, probably because the civil rights division has always been dominated by lefties at the career level, despite efforts by Bush to level the playing field.
Once again Mr. Adams demonstrates his committment to ensuring every lawful American being provided the opportunity to cast his ballot. Thank sir for your dedication and honor. Stay strong.
Mr. Adams – I wouldn’t hold my breath on this Adminsitration’s caring one bit about the law. For them, it’s the results, and the results they want are Democrat votes. They would rather have felons vote than servicemen.
PS – Pay no mind to the Ghost.
After sailing 23 years with the U.S. Navy and 8 years with Military Sealift Command, I have yet to have the absentee ballot system work via the U.S. Postal Service. (The only way to ensure your vote is counted is to have it FedEx’d back and forth. My county clerk has provided this service free for me.) It is one of Washington’s best kept secrets who the U.S. Postmaster General is and how to contact him.
Do you mind if I use this info on other boards and e-mail to alert people to a way to have their military relatives GET their votes counted?
God bless you for this info!
Yes.
I might also add that I now enclose (in the ballot) a self-addressed-stamped-envelope with a sheet of paper asking the county clerk whether:
1.( )My vote was counted in this election.
2.( )My vote was not counted.
3.( )My vote was counted as “not counted”.
I then provide a place for the county clerk to sign it. That way, I have an idea of whether the time and effort I am putting into this process is worth it. It’s also a means of notifying the chain of command of this frustrated process.
richard40 is right. Military ballots are not a priority, b/c unlike most minorities, felons & dead people, service men & women don’t vote overwhelmingly Democrat.
The article states:
“A document filed in the military voting case of McCain v. Cunningham makes plain the DISINTERESTED enforcement system at DOJ for military voters. In 2008, the McCain campaign learned that the Commonwealth of Virginia was sending ballots out far too late for them to ever be successfully returned before the election. The campaign responded by immediately commencing a lawsuit.”
I keep seeing this mistake all over the media. Please learn to use this word correctly. Disinterested means “impartial” or “neutral.” Uninterested means “not interested” or “unwilling.” You can see how this error is magnified in this passage. If the DOJ is disinterested, they are doing their job by remaining neutral and treating all as equals. if they are uninterested in enforcing certain rights, they are not. HUGE difference.
Paul,
From Webster:
Main Entry: dis·in·ter·est·ed
Pronunciation: \-təd\
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1612
1 a : not having the mind or feelings engaged : not interested b : no longer interested
2 : free from selfish motive or interest : unbiased
synonyms see indifferent
— dis·in·ter·est·ed·ly adverb
usage Disinterested and uninterested have a tangled history. Uninterested originally meant impartial, but this sense fell into disuse during the 18th century. About the same time the original sense of disinterested also disappeared, with uninterested developing a new sense—the present meaning—to take its place. The original sense of uninterested is still out of use, but the original sense of disinterested revived in the early 20th century. The revival has since been under frequent attack as an illiteracy and a blurring or loss of a useful distinction. Actual usage shows otherwise. Sense 2 of disinterested is still its most frequent sense, especially in edited prose; it shows no sign of vanishing. A careful writer may choose sense 1a of disinterested in preference to uninterested for emphasis . Further, disinterested has developed a sense (1b), perhaps influenced by sense 1 of the prefix dis-, that contrasts with uninterested . Still, use of senses 1a and 1b will incur the disapproval of some who may not fully appreciate the history of this word or the subtleties of its present use.
Disinterested can and does mean what the author intended, when that is what the author intends.
It is SHAMEFUL and a travesty that our American soldiers are denied having their votes counted in every election due to DemocRAT manipulation. This has got to STOP!! Call and write your Representatives in Congress as well as THE WHITE HOUSE: 202- 456-1111 AND 202-456-1414, and let them know that WE THE PEOPLE demand that our troops have their ballots counted and included in the final tally. This is AMERICA, not Venezuela!!!!!!!!
So now the Americans who have the MOST right to vote, the Americans who risk, and give their lives to protect us, are being denied their right to vote??? Obama and Holder deserve NO respect, since they have disrespected our constitution, our history, our traditions, and the thousands who have died for this country … all of whom are better men than they are.
Saw this while I’ve been hopping around Iraq and just wanted to say thank you and keep on this.
To J. Christian Adams–thank you for continuing to look out for our interests (speaking not as a military person myself, but as an American) and exposing the corruption in the DoJ.
A minor correction–let’s not say that people are DISinterested in something when they’re actually UNinterested in it (even hostile to it), actively NOT interested in seeing it happen or succeed.
Disinterested means something different. Like, you hope the judge who hears your case will be disinterested in the matter at issue–and therefore not biased one way or the other. A person is disinterested if he/she would say, “I don’t have a dog in that fight,” but pays attention to the issue and considers it fairly.
Many readers who have reviewed Christian’s story and then condemn President Obama and his DOJ failed to note the critical fact that the 17,000 ballots that were not counted were cast in the 2008 general election. Obama did not take office until 2009. Hope all will recognize that only 6 States have applied for a waiver from MOVE Act, and this predominantly because their State laws mandated procedures in conflict with MOVE and state legislation to amend has not yet been enacted. This is an entirely appropriate and expected basis for applying for a waiver from some MOVE provisions. MOVE Act did not preempt willy nilly but wanted a smooth, respectful transition to the newer federal requirements. States must comply with all the provisions that they reasonably can — and the vast number are seeking to comply with all provisions.
A couple of notes.
To Susan – I carefully never blamed any adminstration – Obama or Bush. I blamed bureaucrats. I know firsthand where the problem lies because I worked closely with the people. I’ve been kind enough not to name names because I believe the problem is not one of corruption but one of bureaucratic sloth and stubborness. Other publications have named names. But what you have now is an adminstration that does in fact place marginally less importance on military voting rights, and thus the bureaucratic sloth is enabled. You overstate, however, what the waivers are designed for. I suggest you read Senator Cornyn’s letter because he accurately described them as a last resort. They are meant to apply in circumstances where state constitutitons prevent implementation, for example. The states which have applied for waivers (and should be roundly attacked for doing so) had plenty of time to amend their laws to come into compliance. The New York Legislature hardly ever goes out of session, for example. Either you get the job done, or you don’t – and that’s the bottom line. They didn’t get it done.
Regarding all this “disinterested” or “uninterested”, I am suffering the lashes for my editor’s addition! I did not use the term. We ought to be more insterested in a disinterested/uninterested/inactive DOJ than some word choices.
If they can’t make the 45 day deadline, then they need to make their candidate filing deadline earlier. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that! Any politician who can’t figure that out should be voted out of office. Actually, that is too good for them. Where can I buy feathers? I know I can get tar at Lowe’s and Home Depot.
Your editor was not disinterested enough and uninterested in the distinction between the meanings of the two words Mr. Adams! Editors!
I’m sad to say that none of this surprises me. I am so beyond pissed off at this government (and I’m sure I’m not the only one).
How fast did the DOJ jump on Arizona? It seems they can move quickly if the “right” people are victims. The issue here is not the military vote. The DOJ is condoning and aiding and abetting vote fraud. They are corrupted and most need to be replaced with people who are willing to do their job fairly and efficiently.
Why do you take Bashir off the hook so easily? These people don’t get jobs to be yes men/women, they have responsibilities and clearly she didn’t even attempt to ensure the process she was involved in would be completed on time. The time to name names and get the bums out of DC is now. Stop protecting people and place the blame on specific individuals or expect nothing to change.
This is a travesty for young americans to put their lives on the lines and not the right to vote counted. Seriously, this has to be fixed before 2012.
Well said Harvey – there is no reason this should not have been addressed after the mess with the last presidential vote.
I’m as frustrated as every other military person about this mess. Seems like our government can no longer get the “obvious” things correct.