When freshman state Rep. Mike Dovilla (R., Berea) requested an absentee ballot in 2007 while deployed in Iraq with the U.S. Navy, his ballot never arrived. “Through no fault of my own and despite a proactive attempt to obtain a ballot, I was disenfranchised in that year’s municipal elections,” he said.
An initiative unveiled Tuesday by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is designed to make that less likely to happen. In the future, a request for an absentee ballot by a member of the armed services will be tracked to ensure the ballot arrives, even if it means the ballot might be completed at the last minute and faxed back to Ohio for counting on Election Day.
The Military Ready-to-Vote program is designed to help soldiers register to vote and to request and cast ballots.
Military personnel may receive information packets, sign up for reminders via e-mail and social networking sites, receive information about races and issues, track their ballots to ensure they were counted, and watch election results via OhioMilitaryVotes.com.
Full Article: Ohio program focuses on soldiers’ right to vote – Toledo Blade.