What A Shame: Republicans Have To Ask Panetta To Make Sure Our Troops Can Vote.
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GOP senators ask Panetta to make sure troops can vote
By Shaun Waterman
Six Republican senators are asking Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta personally to intervene to ensure that U.S. troops stationed away from home get the chance to register and vote in the upcoming election.
They say Pentagon officials are ignoring a 2009 law that ordered the military to set up a special voting-assistance office at every U.S. base around the world, to make sure troops can negotiate the confusing patchwork of 50 different sets of state registration and absentee voting requirements, and get their ballots mailed in time.
“The price of [the Department of Defense‘s] failure to follow the law will likely be paid this November by military service members and their families, whose voting rights were to have been safeguarded by this provision,” wrote U.S. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma.
“Many of the on-base voter assistance offices that do exist are grossly inadequate, and at least half of them are either closed or completely unstaffed,” states the letter, sent to Mr. Panetta Friday.
“We request a timely response on what you intend to do to ensure that our military service members and their families receive the voter assistance they need in order to participate in the democratic process this November,” the letter concludes.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon inspector general released a report saying investigators had been unable to contact voting-assistance offices at just over half of the U.S. military’s 229 bases across the globe. But Pam Mitchell, the acting director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program at the Pentagon, said they were using outdated contact information.
“I strongly believe that voting-assistance is the best that it has ever been,” she said.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said she had nothing to add to Ms. Mitchell’s remarks, made Wednesday at a briefing for reporters.
Mr. Panetta “responds to all members of Congress and will respond to the senators directly,” Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said.
Ms. Mitchell will testify next week before a House Armed Services Subcommittee and will face “tough questions” according to a staffer.
Read More: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/7/gop...
Top Opinion
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Don Leuty 2012/09/09 03:16:10Obama Cares More For Illegal Voters Than Our Military.
His track record with Military and Veterans is far better than Bush's and Clinton's!
People should really be very careful when claiming Obama is anti-Military or anti-Veteran!!
http://www.reuters.com/articl...
I can give you even more proofs.....and I am a very conservative person politically, but I deal in truth and not lies that are repeated until believed.
Under the MOVE Act, all military installations are required to have a voting-assistance office, which, like the “motor voter” offices at departments of motor vehicles, offer individuals the opportunity to register and ask them to sign a form if they decline. The law said the offices should be open by 2010.
When investigators from the Inspector General’s Office attempted to contact the offices at the military’s 229 bases overseas, they were able reach just 114 — fewer than half. This is why Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has been asked to intevene. Panetta is a good man and will make certain the Department of Defense is not in clear violation of MOVE.
One HUGE problem is Congress failed to authorize additional funding to implement the MOVE Act . Pentagon officials estimate the costs of establishing the offices could exceed $20 million per year.
Congress has appropriated $75 million over the past three years for military voter assistance efforts.
http://www.washingtontimes.co...
In the military's defense I'd say that after obummer and the communist er I er mean dimocraps democrats slashed the military's budget to the bone and with many missions to perform. The military has to set its priorities..........
This is just another right wing "nontroversy"
that PANETTA Cares so LITTLE for our Military ..
that he has NOT taken on a PRO-ACTIVE Role already
(but then again .. this Administration has shown nothing but CONTEMPT for the Service)
the public outcry from our Citizens are heard ..
and there's at least a FEW sitting in Congress ..
that are having to send a FORMAL LETTER to Panetta ..
demanding to know WHY there's no help .. for our SERVICEMEMBERS (and Family members) in going through all the different state offices to expedite the Absentee Voter applications ..