Voting chief need not be a fed, group says

Voting chief need not be a fed, group says
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 13:52:01 EST

A group working to improve overseas voting rights for service members and federal civilians wants the Defense Department to expand its search for a new director of its voting assistance program beyond Senior Executive Service workers.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and key members of Congress, the Alliance for Military and Overseas Voting Rights says limiting the candidate pool to just the elite group of federal civilian workers is not the best way to protect the voting rights of men and women in uniform.

The job is opening because Pauline Brunelli, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Office since 1999, is leaving.

Bob Carey, senior fellow with the National Defense Committee, one of the alliance organizations, said limiting the search to current SES employees “unnecessarily” limits the pool of applicants, “especially when the skill sets are so far outside the realm of core military missions.”

“I know of four or five great candidates outside the current SES employment pool who have worked as state election directors, or on this issue on the Hill, or from one of the voter organizations, who would be great candidates,” Carey said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_votingassistance_director_120408w/%2e