Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today (September 20) that, for the first time in history, ballots are being delivered electronically to Georgia’s military and overseas voters for the 2010 General Election. On Saturday, September 18, Georgia’s military and overseas voters began receiving notifications that their ballots are available for downloading and printing.
The system which will deliver these blank ballots was developed in-house within the Secretary of State’s Office at no additional cost to Georgia’s taxpayers.
Secretary Kemp stated, “We were able to leverage our existing technology and resources to better serve Georgia’s overseas and military voters without having to incur any additional costs or expense.”
To access their ballot, military and overseas voters will log on to a secure webpage on the Secretary of State’s website, print and vote their ballot, and then mail it back to their county election office. This will save weeks of time previously lost to delivery of blank ballots by mail.
Secretary Kemp added, “One ballot cast by a member of our military that is not counted due to slow mail service or a missed deadline is one too many. This e-government solution increases Georgia’s commitment to our men and women in uniform, who fight to protect our Constitution and our freedoms, by providing them additional opportunities to vote and fully participate in our elections.”
With this new advance in ballot delivery, Georgia is in full compliance with the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (also known as the MOVE Act) and Georgia House Bill 1073, signed into law this year by Governor Perdue.
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Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elections. Show all posts
21 September 2010
16 July 2010
Pew Commends Uniform Law Commission for Military and Overseas Voters Act
/PRNewswire/ -- The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) took a major step toward improving state election systems by approving the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act at its annual meeting July 15. The model law would resolve longstanding, widespread voting problems in all federal, state and local elections for American military personnel and citizens overseas. In 2011, many of the commissioners will work to enact the model law through legislation in their respective states.
The ULC, also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, now in its 119th year, comprises more than 350 lawyers, judges, law professors, and lawyer-legislators from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Commissioners are appointed by their states to draft and promote the enactment of uniform laws designed to solve problems common to all the states.
Critical provisions of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act include:
-- mandating that absentee ballots for all elections be sent at least 45
days before an election;
-- requiring electronic transmission of voting materials, including blank
absentee ballots for all elections, upon request;
-- eliminating the requirement for notarization of military and overseas
ballots; and
-- expanding acceptance of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (used as
a back-up measure when official ballots aren't received) for all
elections.
"In 1952, President Truman urged reform of an election system that disenfranchised those who served in the military in World War II and in the post-war reconstruction," said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. "We commend the ULC for setting both a gold standard and developing a practical solution that states can adopt to finally answer Truman's call. This new model law will make it easier for those who defend and represent our nation's democratic ideals around the world to participate in our democracy here at home."
In January 2009, the Pew Center on the States issued No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters, a report which documented that 25 states and the District of Columbia did not provide adequate time for overseas service members to vote and have their ballots counted. At that time, Pew began working with the ULC to inform the drafting of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act.
In October 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which removed many of the obstacles to voting and provided more time for military service members and overseas citizens to participate in federal elections. Since then, Pew has been working with states to bring their laws and regulations into compliance with the MOVE Act and expand the new provisions to state and local elections. The ULC's model act provides a clear blueprint for states to go beyond the federal MOVE law and extend key protections for military and overseas voters to any general, special, primary or runoff election for federal, state and local offices and ballot measures.
In addition to its efforts to improve the election system for military personnel and civilians abroad, the Pew Center on the States is partnering with state election officials and Google to develop the Voting Information Project, which will harness modern information technologies to get voters, no matter where they reside, the election information they need. Pew has also been examining the problems posed by the nation's outdated voter registration system and is collaborating with election officials to evaluate options for building a system that is more efficient and accurate, while reducing costs and administrative burdens.
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The ULC, also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, now in its 119th year, comprises more than 350 lawyers, judges, law professors, and lawyer-legislators from every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Commissioners are appointed by their states to draft and promote the enactment of uniform laws designed to solve problems common to all the states.
Critical provisions of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act include:
-- mandating that absentee ballots for all elections be sent at least 45
days before an election;
-- requiring electronic transmission of voting materials, including blank
absentee ballots for all elections, upon request;
-- eliminating the requirement for notarization of military and overseas
ballots; and
-- expanding acceptance of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (used as
a back-up measure when official ballots aren't received) for all
elections.
"In 1952, President Truman urged reform of an election system that disenfranchised those who served in the military in World War II and in the post-war reconstruction," said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. "We commend the ULC for setting both a gold standard and developing a practical solution that states can adopt to finally answer Truman's call. This new model law will make it easier for those who defend and represent our nation's democratic ideals around the world to participate in our democracy here at home."
In January 2009, the Pew Center on the States issued No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters, a report which documented that 25 states and the District of Columbia did not provide adequate time for overseas service members to vote and have their ballots counted. At that time, Pew began working with the ULC to inform the drafting of the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act.
In October 2009, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which removed many of the obstacles to voting and provided more time for military service members and overseas citizens to participate in federal elections. Since then, Pew has been working with states to bring their laws and regulations into compliance with the MOVE Act and expand the new provisions to state and local elections. The ULC's model act provides a clear blueprint for states to go beyond the federal MOVE law and extend key protections for military and overseas voters to any general, special, primary or runoff election for federal, state and local offices and ballot measures.
In addition to its efforts to improve the election system for military personnel and civilians abroad, the Pew Center on the States is partnering with state election officials and Google to develop the Voting Information Project, which will harness modern information technologies to get voters, no matter where they reside, the election information they need. Pew has also been examining the problems posed by the nation's outdated voter registration system and is collaborating with election officials to evaluate options for building a system that is more efficient and accurate, while reducing costs and administrative burdens.
-----
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22 October 2009
Pew Applauds Congress for Including Military and Overseas Voting Solutions in Final Defense Authorization Bill
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act which includes provisions that will resolve several key voting problems for American military service members and citizens overseas. The bill encompasses the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which is sponsored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), co-sponsored by Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) and supported by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives. It will expedite the transmission of absentee ballots to military personnel and civilians abroad to provide more time for them to vote in U.S. elections and return their ballots in time to be counted. In the last federal election, it is estimated that as many as one in four ballots requested by these voters was not counted.
"The election system has failed our service members and citizens abroad for decades. The MOVE Act marks significant progress toward making it easier for those who defend and represent democratic ideals around the world to participate in our democracy here at home," said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that has advocated for improvements to the election system. "We applaud Senators Schumer and John Cornyn (R-TX) for their leadership, along with Representatives Robert Brady (D-PA), Susan Davis (D-CA) and Dan Lungren (R-CA) for championing these critical steps forward for military and overseas voters."
In January 2009, the Pew Center on the States issued the report, "No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters," the first-ever detailed public analysis of states' voting systems for service members living abroad. The report found that 25 states and the District of Columbia do not provide adequate time for overseas service members to vote and have their ballots counted.
In accordance with Pew's recommendations, the provisions would ensure adequate time to vote by:
-- requiring ballots to be sent to military and overseas voters at least
45 days before an election;
-- expediting the voting process by requiring voter registration
applications, absentee ballot applications and blank ballots to be
made available electronically to them;
-- eliminating the notarization of military and overseas ballots in the
remaining states that currently require it; and
-- expanding the opportunity for Americans abroad to use the Federal
Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) in all federal elections and using
technology to allow voters to access election information
electronically.
"The MOVE Act is a significant step in the right direction by Congress," said David Becker, project director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. "To finish the job, we need to extend these reforms to state elections and modernize the means by which we register and provide information to voters. The changes will not be helpful if ballots are simply sent faster to outdated addresses of those who have been deployed elsewhere. Voter registration updates should be automated to ensure that the records for highly mobile populations, such as military personnel, are accurate."
The Pew Center on the States is working on a full complement of election system reforms for military personnel and civilians abroad. Since January, Pew has supported efforts by the Uniform Law Commission to draft a model law for states, which would extend recommended federal protections to state elections.
In addition, Pew's Voting Information Project (VIP), developed in partnership with Google, Inc. and state and local election officials, makes important voting information available electronically. Using VIP, for example, military and overseas voters could generate customized ballot listings to assist them with casting federal, state or local write-in absentee ballots.
Pew also aims to improve the nation's outdated voter registration system by examining options for building a system that is more efficient and accurate, while reducing costs and administrative burdens. Pew continues to gather data, analyze research and work with election officials to diagnose performance issues in the current voter registration system and propose fact-based, practical solutions to guide the modernization process.
-----
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"The election system has failed our service members and citizens abroad for decades. The MOVE Act marks significant progress toward making it easier for those who defend and represent democratic ideals around the world to participate in our democracy here at home," said Doug Chapin, director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that has advocated for improvements to the election system. "We applaud Senators Schumer and John Cornyn (R-TX) for their leadership, along with Representatives Robert Brady (D-PA), Susan Davis (D-CA) and Dan Lungren (R-CA) for championing these critical steps forward for military and overseas voters."
In January 2009, the Pew Center on the States issued the report, "No Time to Vote: Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters," the first-ever detailed public analysis of states' voting systems for service members living abroad. The report found that 25 states and the District of Columbia do not provide adequate time for overseas service members to vote and have their ballots counted.
In accordance with Pew's recommendations, the provisions would ensure adequate time to vote by:
-- requiring ballots to be sent to military and overseas voters at least
45 days before an election;
-- expediting the voting process by requiring voter registration
applications, absentee ballot applications and blank ballots to be
made available electronically to them;
-- eliminating the notarization of military and overseas ballots in the
remaining states that currently require it; and
-- expanding the opportunity for Americans abroad to use the Federal
Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) in all federal elections and using
technology to allow voters to access election information
electronically.
"The MOVE Act is a significant step in the right direction by Congress," said David Becker, project director of Election Initiatives for the Pew Center on the States. "To finish the job, we need to extend these reforms to state elections and modernize the means by which we register and provide information to voters. The changes will not be helpful if ballots are simply sent faster to outdated addresses of those who have been deployed elsewhere. Voter registration updates should be automated to ensure that the records for highly mobile populations, such as military personnel, are accurate."
The Pew Center on the States is working on a full complement of election system reforms for military personnel and civilians abroad. Since January, Pew has supported efforts by the Uniform Law Commission to draft a model law for states, which would extend recommended federal protections to state elections.
In addition, Pew's Voting Information Project (VIP), developed in partnership with Google, Inc. and state and local election officials, makes important voting information available electronically. Using VIP, for example, military and overseas voters could generate customized ballot listings to assist them with casting federal, state or local write-in absentee ballots.
Pew also aims to improve the nation's outdated voter registration system by examining options for building a system that is more efficient and accurate, while reducing costs and administrative burdens. Pew continues to gather data, analyze research and work with election officials to diagnose performance issues in the current voter registration system and propose fact-based, practical solutions to guide the modernization process.
-----
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