Voting from Abroad – Obstacles and Solutions
In Enfranchising Overseas Voters, National Journal sums up the the obstacles to voting from abroad, the solutions being offered by the Overseas Vote Foundation, and legislative efforts, namely Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney’s (D-NY) proposal to craft a uniform federal voting application for absentee ballot requests. In particular the article highlights problems with the current federal approach to overseas voter registration.
But the department’s Federal Voting Assistance Program has floundered, according to a Government Accountability Office report [PDF] requested by Maloney and Waxman and released in June. Since 2000, DOD has launched several initiatives to facilitate absentee voting using Internet, fax or e-mail technologies, but participation has been pitifully low. DOD pursued but then abandoned an Internet voting program, citing security concerns.
The department “has a terrible track record,” complained Maloney. “During the 2006 election, for example, DOD billed American taxpayers a whopping $830,000 to put together a Web-based overseas voting system. The problem? Only 63 people used it. Do the math — that’s more than $13,000 per vote. We could have flown those ballots back and forth first class for less money.”
NYU’s student newspaper also published an article on voting from abroad to address concerns of students who may be dissuaded from participating in study abroad programs by the fact that their votes in the upcoming presidential election may not be counted.
