Do U.S. Soldiers Vote Republican?

Marines watch the presidential debate live early Oct. 4 at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Collin Kelly / Staff

Does The Military Vote Really Lean Republican? -- Time

Various yardsticks suggest the U.S. military – or at least the officer corps, which accounts for 17% of the 1.4 million-strong active-duty force – leans Republican.

The nation’s 24 million troops and veterans account for about 10% of the nation’s potential voters, but they’re not the monolithic bloc many believe.

Outsiders tend to think the U.S. military is made up entirely of blood-and-gut conservatives, à la John Wayne, but there’s little real evidence to back that up. When the Iraq war was launched, the consensus among U.S. military officers interviewed at the time was that one in three officers opposed it, suggesting they all weren’t gun ho.

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My Comment: In a recent Military Times poll on voting preferences for U.S. military personnel, they found a 2:1 margin in favor of Republicans.

Thousands Of U.S. Service Members Will Be Unable To Vote In This Election

GOP Senators: Thousands Of Ballots Unlikely To Reach Military Voters In Time -- The Hill

A group of Republican senators said Monday that thousands of voter ballots are unlikely to reach military service members until after Nov. 6.

One day ahead of the election, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to express their concern over delays in ballots reaching military voters overseas.

“We write to express concerns over another serious failure by the Department of Defense (DoD) to safeguard the voting rights of our overseas military service members, which we believe could result in the imminent disenfranchisement of thousands,” the letter stated.

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Update: Are Military Voters Being Suppressed? -- Kurt Hyde, New American

My Comment: This is outrageous .... and .... I am not surprised to be reading about it.

Will U.S. Soldiers Based Overseas Have A Problem To Vote This Year?

Soldiers overseas register to vote during a unit voting assistance drive. (U.S. Army photo)

GOP Senators Ask Panetta To Make Sure Troops Can Vote -- Washington Times

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.

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My Comment: Just having these doubts is enough to raise eyebrows and a call for more action (or more answers).

More Problems For US Soldiers Overseas To Vote In November

Soldiers from Fort Drum, NY, vote via absentee ballots during the 2008 election while serving in Iraq.

Board Of Elections Gaffe May Nullify New York Soldiers' Overseas Absentee Ballots -- New York Daily News

The Board of Elections is facing another "royal screwup" - this time for failing to ship absentee ballots to New York troops serving overseas.

"Our troops sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms. They should never, ever be denied the right to vote," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, who pushed a 2009 law establishing deadlines for mailing absentee ballots.

New York election officials were required to ship the ballots to U.S. citizens living overseas by Sept. 17. Because New York primaries were held Sept. 14, the feds granted local officials an extension until Oct. 1.

Several New York counties blew past the extension - including the city's five boroughs.

Schumer urged election officials to rush delivery of the ballots to ensure that military votes are counted.

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My Comment: There is no excuse for this .... sighhh .... another example on how our government fails our troops.

U.S. Soldiers Fighting Overseas Should Not Be Disenfranchised From Voting -- A Commentary

Image: An absentee ballot from Arlington County in Virginia shows the names of the general election candidates. Photo from CNN

Waiving The Military's Star-Spangled Rights -- Washington Times Editorial

Congress must stop disenfranchisement of overseas personnel.

About four brigades' worth of American military personnel lost the right to have their votes count in the 2008 elections.

It now appears that the Justice Department is willing to allow many of the same 17,000 Americans fighting for us overseas to be disenfranchised once again in November. Congress and the Defense Department need to step in to ensure this doesn't happen.

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My Comment: I am 100% behind this editorial.