If anyone should be allowed to vote in this election it's the military.

FYI, I'd say that even if a majority of them were in favor of Kerry.

....The democrats have successfully knocked Nader off the ballot in PA. Thus, the military needs new ballots because the one's they (probably) already cast have Nader's name on them... so THOSE BALLOTS DON'T COUNT!

Not true, they don't need new ballots. I just received my PA absentee ballot today, and it has Nader/Carmejo on it. There is an enclosed not that says that since the court decided to keep Nader off the ballot, there is insufficient time to reprint ballots.

It goes on to say:
"You are advised that if you vote an Independent Straight Party Ticket or vote individually for Mr. Nader and Mr. Camejo by marking your preference in the space next to Mr. Nader and Mr. Carmejo's names on the ballot, your vote for the office of Presidential Electors shall be counted as a write-in vote."

I'm not sure that I understand the point of this. If you vote for Nader, it counts anyway (albeit as a write-in). So what's the point in telling you that his name shouldn't be on there?

I'm sorry to tell you.. but I believe you are wrong.

This means your vote might not count as well.

From Bill Hobbes website:

October 22, 2004

Pa. Dems Working Hard to Cancel Military Vote

Some very disturbing reports out of Pennsylvania indicate that the hyper-partisan Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell and the former Kerry campaign official he just put in charge of monitoring the state's election for problems such as fraud are working overtime to make sure that the votes of some 16,000 military voters aren't counted. As polls show roughly 75 percent of the military vote is likely to President Bush, this represents a clear attempt to deny Bush as many as 12,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Remember that if the PA vote count is close.

Blogs for Bush and PowerLine have posts on the brewing story. The basics: Pennsylvania mailed out absentee ballots to residents currently living out of state, including military voters overseas but also voters temporarily residing in other states. Those ballots included Ralph Nader as one of the choices, but a Pennsylvania court later ruled Nader ineligible for the ballot. New absentee ballots were sent out just a few days ago, and Gov. Rendell - who chaired the Democratic National Committee during part of the Clinton presidency - is refusing to extend the deadline for voters to return them.

Meanwhile, vote already cast on absentee ballots that listed Nader will be tossed out. Those votes will not count and those voters will not have sufficient time to receive, complete, and return a new ballot.

The latest poll has Bush and Kerryy virtually dead even in Pennsylvania.

If you spot a news story about suspected voter fraud in your part of the country, please send me the link and a brief summary to voterfraud-at-gmail.com.

I'm sorry to tell you.. but I believe you are wrong.

This means your vote might not count as well.

From Bill Hobbes website:

October 22, 2004

Pa. Dems Working Hard to Cancel Military Vote

Some very disturbing reports out of Pennsylvania indicate that the hyper-partisan Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell and the former Kerry campaign official he just put in charge of monitoring the state's election for problems such as fraud are working overtime to make sure that the votes of some 16,000 military voters aren't counted. As polls show roughly 75 percent of the military vote is likely to President Bush, this represents a clear attempt to deny Bush as many as 12,000 votes in Pennsylvania. Remember that if the PA vote count is close.

Blogs for Bush and PowerLine have posts on the brewing story. The basics: Pennsylvania mailed out absentee ballots to residents currently living out of state, including military voters overseas but also voters temporarily residing in other states. Those ballots included Ralph Nader as one of the choices, but a Pennsylvania court later ruled Nader ineligible for the ballot. New absentee ballots were sent out just a few days ago, and Gov. Rendell - who chaired the Democratic National Committee during part of the Clinton presidency - is refusing to extend the deadline for voters to return them.

Meanwhile, vote already cast on absentee ballots that listed Nader will be tossed out. Those votes will not count and those voters will not have sufficient time to receive, complete, and return a new ballot.

The latest poll has Bush and Kerryy virtually dead even in Pennsylvania.

If you spot a news story about suspected voter fraud in your part of the country, please send me the link and a brief summary to voterfraud-at-gmail.com.

I have heard a bit about this topic on the news. From what I understand the governor is disenfranchising the Military vote in PA. As, I'm sure most of you know, the military is about 75% in favor of Bush. In the primaries and every other election in the state of PA, if the military vote was late it was still legitimate and counted up until a certain point. Now, the governor has decided late military votes will not count at all.

Is that an enormous deal? Not at first... but the reason it matters is the ballots in PA have changed. The democrats have successfully knocked Nader off the ballot in PA. Thus, the military needs new ballots because the one's they (probably) already cast have Nader's name on them... so THOSE BALLOTS DON'T COUNT! This means the military needs to be mailed new ballots and get them mailed back all before the election. Which is not going to happen. So, it is estimated (if the governor's proclamation is not challenged successfully.... Santorum has already sued) that about 16,000 military votes will not count from the state of PA. This is BS. The military deserves a voice.

If anyone has more info on this please share.

If anyone should be allowed to vote in this election it's the military.

why is a persons vote from Pa more important than one from Fl?? Oh right, it all depends on who they will vote for

Thanks for putting words in my mouth... they don't feel right in there and they taste bad... so I'm spitting them out now... thanks!

I think the people in the military deserve their vote. You don't have to agree.

sure no problem.

I'm just stating there's a hypocrisy with conservatives and votes.

Florida law says ther MUST a recount if it is decided by .5%, Bush won Florida by .03% so by LAW there should've been a statewide recount, yet the conservatives bitched about it and when the supreme court said no recount they all said 'just listen to the courts!'

In California they want to kick out hte governor and the courts said no, then all the conservatives swore about how the courts had no place in the matter.

Now suddenly because the votes will go for a conservative they are up in arms.

Sure i think everyone's vote should count, but you can;t pick and choose whose counts and whos doesnt

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04303/403806.stm

Rendell seeks extension for counting overseas votes
Friday, October 29, 2004

Associated Press

Under intense pressure from military voters and Republicans, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell said today that he will ask a federal judge to extend the deadline for counting overseas military and civilian ballots by one week.

Rendell told a news conference in Philadelphia that Republicans could only produce one voter -- out of 26,000 overseas military and civilian voters -- who failed to get the absentee ballot he requested.

Nonetheless, "Even if it's just one or two votes, their votes should be counted," Rendell said.

A Republican-financed federal lawsuit by two servicemen in Iraq and Kuwait filed Wednesday against Rendell and Secretary of State Pedro Cortes seeks a 15-day extension for their ballots' return. One of the plaintiffs lives in Venango County, where records show that 131 of the 134 overseas ballots mailed out have already come back to the elections office.

Rendell said one of the plaintiffs' ballots was sent and delivered to the address he put on his absentee ballot request form. He said there was no explanation why the other plaintiff never received an absentee ballot.

"There may have been a screw-up in the mail. But it's not widespread," Rendell told CNN today.

A hearing on the federal lawsuit was scheduled for this morning before U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane, and Rendell said his lawyers would ask that ballots postmarked by the Nov. 2 election be counted until Nov. 9. The governor also planned to ask state Commonwealth Court to extend the deadline for counting ballots in state races.

Rendell had initially resisted asking for an extension.

Fanned by conservative radio hosts, the issue has erupted over the past week, with thousands of callers jamming phone lines at the governor's office and Rendell facing repeated questions about it from the public during his ongoing bus tour in support of Democratic candidate Sen. John F. Kerry.

Republicans were still unsatisfied today. GOP state Sen. John Pippy, an Army Reserve captain who served in Iraq, said he doesn't understand why Rendell won't ask for a two-week extension since the governor asked for -- and received -- a nearly three-week extension for counting absentee ballots in the April primary.

Rendell requested that extension because an unprecedented number of challenges against primary nominating petitions caused delays in many counties in distributing absentee ballots.

State records obtained by The Associated Press yesterday indicate that military voters stationed overseas are returning absentee ballots in Pennsylvania at about the same rate as all absentee ballots are coming in.

According to electronic reporting by 53 county elections offices, 15,373 ballots were mailed to servicemen and women and their families overseas, and so far 9,522 have been returned, a rate of 62 percent.

For all foreign absentee ballots and all domestic absentee ballots, the rate is an identical 63 percent each. Nonmilitary overseas ballots are coming in slightly faster, at 67 percent.

The figures were released as Republicans raise concerns that mailing delays could unfairly reduce the number of military overseas ballots counted in Tuesday's presidential election. Ballots for military families and overseas voters in remote parts of the world were mailed out starting Aug. 24, and all other overseas ballots were mailed out starting Sept. 20. Domestic absentee ballots were mailed starting Oct. 19.

"I think it shows that people are not only receiving their ballots, but they're returning them," Kate Philips, Rendell's press secretary, said Thursday.