Reposted from
Preemptive Karma:
One of the more mysterious allegations coming out from Dino Rossi's camp in regard to the Washington State Gubernatorial Election is their alledged list of 260 military/overseas voters who've complained to Rossi's office about not getting their absentee ballot.
So far, Rossi's office has not made this list public. Whether or not this list truely exists is questionable, in my opinion.
(more after the jump)
Yesterday, I spoke with Chris Hanzeli in Rossi's office. Hanzeli is assistant to Mary Lane, Rossi's spokesperson. Hanzeli was well aware of the list in question, but was vague when I started asking specifics. Hanzeli said that he didn't know where the full list was located when I pressed for more information.
Hanzeli did say that he was personally responsible for "60-65" of the complaints that Rossi's office alledgedly received. All on that particular list were military. One on the list is Tyler Farmer, a Marine who is stationed in Iraq. Farmer says he received his Snohomish County Washington State absentee ballot on November 3 and thinking it was too late to vote, threw his ballot away.
Farmer's story appears to be at odds with what I've been hearing from the US military. Farmer's unit should have had a voter representative there to assist him with any issues surrounding absentee ballots. Farmer should have known that he still had time to get his ballot in (November 16 was the Washington State deadline) as voter reps were holding meetings to inform and assist soldiers with deadlines and paperwork.
I spoke this morning with Wendy at the Shohomish County elections office. Wendy informed me that Farmer had multiple options both through the military and Snohomish County for ballot access. When it became apparent that his ballot wasn't showing up by November 2, Farmer could have contacted Snohomish County via email or phone to have a ballot faxed or emailed to him. He also should have had access to a Federal Military ballot. Whether or not Farmer himself had internet access at the front lines is still in question. But it's evident that many do.
Wendy also informed me that Snohomish County has received zero complaints since the election from voters who couldn't get an absentee ballot. Military absentee voters had until November 16 to return their ballot. Snohomish County accepted ballots via fax and accepted Federal Military Ballots. They also had all voter pamphlet information available on their website for those who needed information about all of the state and local races/issues.
It's incumbent upon the military and the various elections offices around the country to make voting as accessible as possible for our soldiers serving overseas. But the soldiers have to take responsibility on their end as well. Certainly soldiers who are serving in combat roles probably have more important things on their mind (like staying alive, for example) than voting. But it's clear to me that Tyler Farmer had ample opportunities and access to a ballot and didn't avail himself.
Rossi and the people in his office are using the Farmer case as a "poster boy" for military voter disenfranchisement. Yet when I asked Chris Hanzeli what official offices these voters were sent to for redress for their complaints, Hanzeli told me that they just took down their names and information.
Rossi and Washington State Republicans are asking the public to believe they are indignant about these voters being disenfranchised even though the military voters had multiple opportunities and access. They want us to believe that they are fighting for the rights of our soldiers to vote, despite not having bothered to help them report their alledged voting problems to the military or county elections officials.
Perhaps next time I contact Rossi's office, I should ask to speak to the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny.