DoD Unblocks Overseas Voters

Mrs. G., whose political viewpoint makes me look like a wingnut, found this story by Nonna Gorilovskaya (take that, spellcheck!) in Mother Jones that continues on our thread of government-sponsored voter intimidation and disenfranchisement.

We're continually being told that every vote counts, but if you're an American overseas, don't count on the U.S. government to protect your right to vote. On Monday, the International Herald Tribune reported that the Defense Department, citing hacking concerns, has been blocking its Federal Voting Assistance Program website -- the site that both overseas civilian and military voters use to register -- to users of, among other major Internet Service Providers (ISPs), British Telecom and France's Wanadoo.

Following an uproar among Democrats, the Pentagon issued a rapid reversal of the Internet blockade on Wednesday. This was remarkable, not least because the block seems to have been in place for months, if not years. However, the Pentagon continues to refuse to explain why the blockade was in place in to begin with, and now claims it had been left in effect "inadvertently."

..."That the Pentagon ... has chosen to surrender to unspecified 'hackers' without firing a single shot in defense of American democracy is suspect." An unnamed Defense Department voting official was much more blunt in an interview with Salon.com: "There is no way in hell that this is not a deliberate partisan attempt to systematically disenfranchise a large Democratic voting block." Three Congressional Democrats sent the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a pointed letter demanding that the block be lifted.

"You would have to be naive not to appreciate that there is a very real danger of manipulation and retaliation inherent in providing for waiver of the right to cast a secret ballot by people in the military. The military is the most authoritarian institution in American life. People are subject to a chain of command, they are under constant observation, and their every activity is directed and controlled by their superiors."

Neither has the fact that the chief executive of Omega Technologies -- the company subcontracted by the Pentagon to collect these ballots -- is a Republican donor has gone unnoticed. National Review's Jed Babbin branded criticism of the confidentiality waiver as nothing less than liberal attempts to deny our fighting men and women the right to vote. In fact, however, the Democrats have high hopes for picking up more than their usual share of the Republican-leaning military vote. The non-existent WMDs, continuing violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, extended tours of duty, the calling up of the National Guard troops and retirees, and scrutiny of Bush's Guard days, may all mean gains for Kerry with this constituency

If you read all these articles, and you know you should, you will find there are 6,000,000 American civilians overseas who, no doubt because of the way that Dubya has mishandled foreign policy, are expected to vote Democrat.

Rat on 'em as you catch 'em, my fellow Americans. You know damn well they'd do it to you, and turnabout is the only fair play we're likely to see this election year.