 Keep
in mind the fact that: "JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Absentee voters living in Israel
and Palestinian territories could influence the outcome of the razor-edge
U.S. presidential election..." Dual-Citizen foreigners get to vote. How many
more U.S. Military personnel have not received their ballots and how many
thousands are there whose ballots have NOT been mailed?
3,000 Navy Votes Found on Gulf Ships
By Marilyn Rauber
WASHINGTON - The Navy said yesterday it has discovered bundles of overseas ballots left behind on three ships in the Persian Gulf. Cmdr. Greg Smith, a Navy spokesman, said the ballots cast by some of the 3,000 sailors and Marines on board the USS Tarawa, USS Deleuth and USS Anchorage would be flown back to the United States "expeditiously" - hopefully in time to be counted. "All we're trying to do is see if there's a way to get the mail there," said Smith. The outcome of the neck-and-neck presidential race hangs on counting every absentee vote, especially in pivotal Florida, but Smith said it was unclear which states are involved. Under Florida law, overseas ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and must be in by Friday. Smith said all shipboard mail was left to languish while the three West Coast-based ships assisted the stricken USS Cole after it was bombed by terrorists last month - until someone remembered that the mail included deadline ballots. The Navy will fly the ballots, which were postmarked at the time each crew member turned in his mail onboard, only as far as the mainland, and the Postal Service will handle it routinely from there, Smith said. Spokesmen for the Army, Marines and Air Force said they were unaware of any other similar snafus.
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