GOP: Count overseas military ballots

Forty-one Republican House members have sponsored a bill that would
force Florida to count all military absentee ballots received during the
2000 presidential race.

Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas, has signed on to the "Armed Services
Vote Rescue Act," H.R. 5642, sponsored by Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz.,
which is designed to "strengthen the Federal Uniformed and Overseas
Absentees Voting Act by providing that all ballots cast by those in the
U.S. military stationed overseas shall count, if there is no evidence of
fraud."

Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas

Lack of witness signature, postmark or questions about how the ballot
was requested would not be grounds for disqualification, Combest said.

"The men and women who put their lives on the line every day to
protect our nation should have their votes counted -- it is a
constitutional right," said the Texas congressman. "This bill sends a
clear signal to election officials that votes cast by military personnel
are equal in the eyes of the law and should be counted just as any other
vote would."

At issue are many and perhaps thousands of otherwise "legally cast"
military absentee ballots that were not counted by some Florida counties
because they lacked dates or postmarks.

Combest and other lawmakers have pointed out, however, that some
ballots cast by overseas military personnel are sent through duty
stations that have no postmark machines and, therefore, no way to date
the ballots.

Yet, federal write-in and other absentee ballots require that service
members sign and date the actual ballots -- signatures that must be
affirmed by a witness.

According to Combest, instructions were not provided to tell voters
to date the ballots. Other ballots were erroneously postmarked after
arriving in the U.S.

"Al Gore keeps saying that he wants to make sure that 'every vote is
counted,'" said the congressman. "Yet over 1,400 military votes have
been thrown out.

"Only one group, overseas military personnel, had an organized and
systematic campaign, including an extensive five-page memo distributed
by Democrat political operatives, to disqualify their votes," said
Combest, referring to Tallahassee lawyer Mark Herron's

memo sent to
all 67 Florida counties instructing local canvassing boards how to
legally toss military ballots -- said by most analysts to likely have favored George W. Bush.

"This is an outrage, not only to servicemen and servicewomen, but also to all Americans," he added. "If Florida election officials will not count legitimate ballots sent in good faith, then Congress will force them to do so."

The importance of the bill in the Florida vote is that it is retroactive and hence would force the state to count all absentee ballots that were cast devoid of fraud or evidence of tampering.

Combest said legal experts at the Congressional Research Service and the House Legislative Counsel have concluded that this retroactive application is clearly constitutional.

But critics of the measure say such a law would constitute a violation of

Article 1, Sect. 9 of the Constitution because it would become an ex post facto law.

Nevertheless, Combest said five of the top veterans groups also support the bill, including the Air Force Sergeants Association and the Navy League of the United States.

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