Of 119,000 absentee ballots sent to troops, only 57,000 were counted last year

About 119,000 absentee ballots for overseas military were requested in 2006, about 10 percent of overseas military. Of those 119,000 ballots, only about 57,000 were actually cast and counted, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Government officials are unable to explain that discrepancy.

In war zone, voting is not the top priority
By Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, August 25, 2008

(Second in a three-part series)

The voting assistance officers assigned to help their comrades vote sometimes face challenges in convincing a deployed soldier that casting a ballot should be a priority.

Add the breakneck tempo of military life as two wars are waged and the difficulty assigning and keeping voting assistance officers, and helping troops vote is further complicated.

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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56969