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Tuesday, May. 06, 2008

Let our troops vote

Guest Editorial: The Herald

By Staff Reports

Lake Wylie Pilot

If troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are going to fight and die for their country, they ought to have access to a fast and easy way to help choose who will lead the country.

Unfortunately, most forces in far-flung military bases around the globe can't vote by e-mail. Instead, they struggle to meet voting deadlines by relying largely on regular mail to get ballots and cast votes. And, because states often are late in preparing ballots, voters in the military are at risk of being denied a chance to vote.

Communities in 13 states will send overseas troops presidential election ballots by e-mail this year, and districts in at least seven states also will let them return completed ballots over the Internet. But that is just a smattering of the thousands of districts and the tens of thousands of men and women in uniform who may miss out on this year's elections.

Granted, anytime the Internet is involved, security and privacy concerns arise. But states that use e-mail either to deliver ballots to military voters or to both deliver and receive ballots report few problems.

Critics complain that ballots often are not prepared and ready to be mailed until 30 to 45 days before an election. Because it can take more than two weeks for troops to get ballots by regular mail, they sometimes get them too late to meet voting deadlines.

Ironically, overseas troops are forced to use a 19th century method of casting a ballot while voters in the United States are compelled by federal law to use electronic voting machines with no requirement for an accompanying paper ballot.

Almost any technological system can be hacked. And there is no way to ensure that the service person who receives a ballot by e-mail is the same person who fills it out. Unscrupulous people hoping to sway an election undoubtedly could find a way to interfere with the process.

But failing to give our troops a chance to vote is unconscionable. And in a year when war is a big campaign issue, the election results in any state -- especially those with heavy military voting -- could turn on the votes of thousands of troops on the front lines.

Voting by e-mail may not be entirely foolproof or secure. But some states clearly are leading the way in accommodating e-mail voting by the troops.

Other states should follow their lead in developing a system that gives all military personnel a chance to vote. Even if it only is a way to get them ballots more quickly over the Internet, that would be a significant improvement.

Let our troops vote.