Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
October 16, 2008
Pg. 22
It is unacceptable that another election has come and the Pentagon still has not been able to make voting easy and possible for most military personnel serving overseas ("Military vote by mail: Mostly absent," Plugged in, Politics, Tuesday).
Fortunately, and due to the efforts by the Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), there is still time for our military personnel to receive a ballot and cast a vote. OVF developed an online system for overseas voters to enter home ZIP codes to instantly receive the appropriate ballot for printing and sending.
The ballot can then be sent via express mail to the voter's local election office due to a joint venture that OVF established with FedEx Corp. The fee for the express shipping, plus tracking, is either free or deeply discounted.
Even though it is too late for this election, the Pentagon should reconsider online voting in the future. Private election providers like the American Arbitration Association that administer hundreds of elections annually for unions and corporations successfully use online voting for voters overseas. Online voting with proper safeguards in place is secure and more reliable than the mail ballot.
Jeffrey T. Zaino, Vice president of elections, American Arbitration Association, New York
October 16, 2008
Pg. 22
It is unacceptable that another election has come and the Pentagon still has not been able to make voting easy and possible for most military personnel serving overseas ("Military vote by mail: Mostly absent," Plugged in, Politics, Tuesday).
Fortunately, and due to the efforts by the Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), there is still time for our military personnel to receive a ballot and cast a vote. OVF developed an online system for overseas voters to enter home ZIP codes to instantly receive the appropriate ballot for printing and sending.
The ballot can then be sent via express mail to the voter's local election office due to a joint venture that OVF established with FedEx Corp. The fee for the express shipping, plus tracking, is either free or deeply discounted.
Even though it is too late for this election, the Pentagon should reconsider online voting in the future. Private election providers like the American Arbitration Association that administer hundreds of elections annually for unions and corporations successfully use online voting for voters overseas. Online voting with proper safeguards in place is secure and more reliable than the mail ballot.
Jeffrey T. Zaino, Vice president of elections, American Arbitration Association, New York