Dear Friends,
As a general rule, I try not to post my regular news columns as blogposts. I figure that anyone can read these articles on my website under the "News and Views" link.
But this week is a little bit different. The United States Senate tonight is taking another step toward exhibiting even 1/10th of the courage that our troops in country show every day.
And this week, Minnesota celebrates the safe return of the "Red Bulls" - the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard. The Red Bulls unit includes soldiers from Chisago County, my home community.
Given the timeliness of the return of the Red Bulls, I want to share with you the column I submitted yesterday to the Chisago County Press for publication this week or next, outlining the Military Voting Bill I've sponsored in the Minnesota House.
State Rep. Jeremy Kalin
NEWS COLUMN
Minnesota House of Representatives
District 17B (651) 296-5377
579 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
July 17, 2007
FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY, BUT BARRED FROM PARTICIPATING?
This summer, I will join other legislators - and every Minnesotan - to
celebrate the safe return of our National Guard soldiers from Iraq. For
month after month after month, our neighbors and relatives put their
lives on the line, following through on their commitment and duty.
They have been asked by our Commander In Chief to make the world a
better, more democratic place. While some of us disagree with the
management of the war by the White House, I believe that we all agree
that our servicemembers have served our state and our nation with great
honor.
Asked to spread democracy overseas, you might think that ensuring that
they can participate in our own elections would be a no-brainer that
each and every eligible Minnesotan should get to vote. Unfortunately,
this isn't the case.
In 2006, fewer than 20% of all Minnesota servicemembers overseas who
tried to vote succeeded in having their votes counted. This number is
beyond alarming.
We can and must do better.
Much of the problem faced by our military and overseas voters is that
there is such a short period of time between the primary and the general
election that it is often impossible to mail the ballots out and have
them returned in time. This situation is especially difficult for troops
on the move.
In conversations with the Pentagon about ways we could address this
problem, they proposed that we allow our county elections officials to
email the ballots out to overseas voters. They could print out the
ballot and return envelope, vote in private, and then send it back like
any other absentee ballot. This would cut the time in half and make it
much more likely that their votes would be received on time.
Using email to communicate with soldiers and others in overseas public
service would be especially helpful given the uncertainty and chaos in
many parts of the world. We're not getting into Internet voting here -
voters would still be voting on a paper ballot. The integrity of our
elections would still be assured by strict verification - matching ID
numbers and signatures.
Staff from the Pentagon and leaders in our Minnesota National Guard and
88th Ready Reserve helped Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and me craft a
comprehensive bill to address a broad range of barriers facing overseas
voters. It was one of my greatest honors as a freshman legislator to be
the chief author of the bill in the House. Many Senators and
Representatives from both parties co-sponsored the bill, and the chief
Senate author, Sharon Erickson-Ropes, is a Navy veteran.
Unfortunately, not every legislator thought this was a good idea. Some
proposed that we only allow military personnel to receive ballots by
email, but require all other overseas voters to continue to use postal
mail. At this point, there are nearly as many civilian contractors in
Iraq as military personnel. Don't they deserve their right to vote? What
about spouses and dependents of military personnel or employees of the
State Department? Shouldn't everyone have the right to vote, including
people devoting their lives to service as missionaries or in the Peace
Corps. Why would any legislator want to make it nearly impossible for
students studying abroad to vote?
The Pentagon was especially concerned about this approach, arguing
forcefully in their testimony and in letters that making sure that
all eligible American citizens can vote is crucial for helping Americans abroad
to deepen their ties with our country.
Fortunately this bill passed with strong support. Unfortunately, it did
not become law because the Governor vetoed it. His veto letter raised a
number of objections that I believe were answered by the military voting
experts who came out from the Pentagon to help us lobby for this bill.
Americans abroad are our ambassadors in the world. They can best
represent our country and our democracy if we make sure they can
participate in our elections.