Miltary Not getting To Vote in PA

[Bonnie]

I just heard that Mayor Rendell of PA will not extend the deadline for overseas military people to vote, saying the numbers are insignificant..................16,000 + won't get to vote?

Does anyone have a link for this?

 

[Mr. P]

who is extending? And why?

 

[Bonnie]

who is extending? And why?

From what I understand it has something to do with changing the ballots for Nader to run, and they can't get them ready in timeto send overseas to the military that are registered in PA, and Mayor Rendell won't extend the deadline to get the ballots in citing it's only 16,000 so it doesn't mean anything?? But I cant' find the link.

 

[Mr. P]

I'm looking too...I heard that Ill. Or In.
didn't even have Bush on the absent
ballot sent to the troops..
The supposed reason was...the convention was held to late to print the name.

I haven't verified that story...

 

[lilcountriegal]

I just heard that Mayor Rendell of PA will not extend the deadline for overseas military people to vote, saying the numbers are insignificant..................16,000 + won't get to vote?

Does anyone have a link for this?

This is all I could find:

Still no consensus on sending corrected absentee ballots
Wednesday, October 20, 2004

By Bill Toland and Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau



HARRISBURG -- Although the state Supreme Court has affirmed, for now, that Ralph Nader won't be on Pennsylvania's November ballot, still uncertain is whether the U.S. Department of Justice can force the state to send corrected absentee ballots to overseas voters, then extend the period during which those ballots can be tabulated.

Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell and his underlings, say new ballots shouldn't be sent. Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and the legal squad from the Justice Department, say they should.

Some of the state's absentee and write-in ballots that were sent overseas to soldiers and civilians bore Nader's name and others did not, thanks to lawsuits and subsequent appeals filed by Nader's attorneys.

That confusion, the Justice Department argues, would be eased if the state were ordered by federal court to send out new, updated ballots without Nader's name on them.

Politically, such an emergency order would benefit the re-election campaign of President Bush, because military votes tend to be Republican votes. Giving Pennsylvania extra time to count overseas ballots -- the Justice Department is suggesting a Nov. 17 deadline, instead of the usual Oct. 29 deadline -- could theoretically add to Bush's total in a hotly contested state.

Santorum criticized Rendell yesterday for refusing to accede to the Justice Department request, saying U.S. servicemen and women are risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect Americans' right to vote. The Democratic Rendell administration is refusing to allow the additional time so that absentee ballots from overseas can be received and counted in the upcoming presidential election.

"I respect the governor, but I am confounded by his actions in this case," Santorum said.

Rendell is "under tremendous pressure from the Democratic National Committee and the Kerry campaign not to extend this deadline" for receiving ballots, Santorum added.

But attorneys and witnesses for the state, during testimony given yesterday in U.S. District Court, said the individual county elections offices had fulfilled all of their duties in sending out absentee ballots to anyone who requested them. Sending out another round of ballots would not only be confusing for overseas voters, but would be overwhelming for the county election employees, who are already working overtime in anticipation of Election Day.

Mark Wolosik, Allegheny County's election director, testified that the county's election workers have too much to do as it is.

"There is no time in our county to reprint ballots," he said.

An attorney for Pennsylvania's State Department, Linda Barrett, suggested that the Justice Department might be barking up the wrong tree. Even if the court grants an "emergency order," she said, there's no provision in state law that allows the state to force county election bureaus to send out new absentee ballots.

That's because each county handles its own elections, and decides on its own when to send out overseas ballots.

U.S. attorneys suggested the county elections offices use fax machines to send out new ballots, although they then would have to be filled out and sent back via regular mail.

This isn't the U.S. Justice Department's first foray into the narrow race between Bush and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry. In Michigan, Bush's Justice Department had argued that the state's election officials should be free to adopt strict rules to count "provisional" ballots, or the ballots for people whose eligibility to vote isn't immediately verifiable.

A federal judge rejected those arguments, and allowed state Democrats to sue in an effort to ease restrictions on voters whose names are missing from Election Day voter rolls.

Yesterday's hearing in Harrisburg wasn't completed by the end of the work day, and Judge Yvette Kane said the court would reconvene this morning.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04294/398764.stm

 

[Bonnie]

That sounds about right! Thanks CG!

 

[lilcountriegal]

That sounds about right! Thanks CG!

Anytime, Bonnie. And for what it's worth, Ed Rendell is nothing more than a steaming pile of dog dung. Not many people in this State [that I encounter] like him one bit, Democrats or Republicans. I would almost bet my paycheck that he wont be re-elected when his time is up.

I'd actually like to see him booted out on his big fat ass.

 

[Bonnie]

Anytime, Bonnie. And for what it's worth, Ed Rendell is nothing more than a steaming pile of dog dung. Not many people in this State [that I encounter] like him one bit, Democrats or Republicans. I would almost bet my paycheck that he wont be re-elected when his time is up.

I'd actually like to see him booted out on his big fat ass.

You know the weird thing about Rendell is that when he was Mayor of Philly I think he was decent at least as far as the cities's economy went. To me it seems like when he became Gov he got decidedly more liberal?

 

[lilcountriegal]

You know the weird thing about Rendell is that when he was Mayor of Philly I think he was decent at least as far as the cities's economy went. To me it seems like when he became Gov he got decidedly more liberal?

That's the biggest bitch I've heard from people about Rendell. He was voted in as Governor because of what he did for Philly. As soon as he became Governor, his Cybil personality kicked in and the state went to Hell in a handbag.

 

[Jimmyeatworld]

This is all I could find:



http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04294/398764.stm

Kind of odd that when felons don't get to vote, we get Al Sharpton, the NAACP, and the ACLU beating people's doors down, but this is perfectly alright.

I think we need to start the American Common Sense Union. Maybe that way there will be an organization that actually stands up for people when things really aren't fair, not just when they work against certain ideaology.

 

[Avatar4321]

You know the weird thing about Rendell is that when he was Mayor of Philly I think he was decent at least as far as the cities's economy went. To me it seems like when he became Gov he got decidedly more liberal?

He was bad enough as the mayor of Philly. Trust me he was not decent. He totally ruined the Philadelphia School systems and one of his campaign promises was to do the same to the pennsylvania school system as he did to the Philadelphia school system. you can tell why i was so opposed to him. the only reason he was governor was those traitor, Republicans for Rendell crowd. makes me sick.

 

[insein]

Only reason he won was because the Reps in this state put up such a weakass candidate combined with eddie's pandering to Eagle fans from Bucks county (Heavy Rep county). I voted for Casey but even i didnt really think he had a chance. Run toomey next time and watch how fast Eddie is voted out.

 

[Bonnie]

Only reason he won was because the Reps in this state put up such a weakass candidate combined with eddie's pandering to Eagle fans from Bucks county (Heavy Rep county). I voted for Casey but even i didnt really think he had a chance. Run toomey next time and watch how fast Eddie is voted out.

You have to wonder about a city that puts a thug like John Street in office!

 

[insein]

You have to wonder about a city that puts a thug like John Street in office!

These people deserve what they get. they all whine about high taxes and City wage tax but reelect Street anyway. Democrats have brainwashed this whole city into thinking Republicans, who havent had control of this city for Decades, have cause it to suck so bad. So many dumb people in the world.