NYT: Casting Ballot From Abroad Is No Sure Bet

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/washington/13overseas.html?hp

Casting Ballot From Abroad Is No Sure Bet
Steven Frame for The New York Times

By IAN URBINA
Published: June 13, 2007

Over the last six years, the Defense Department has spent more than $30 million trying to find an efficient way for American soldiers and civilians living abroad to vote in elections back home.

But with the presidential primaries approaching, the Pentagon’s system, which is Web-based, remains slow, confusing and plagued with security and privacy problems. And that has left many of the five million Americans overseas uncertain that their vote will be counted.

Fewer than 20 local election officials in the United States have said they want to use the military’s Web system in the coming election. Just 63 voters used it in the 2006 election to request and return ballots over the Internet, according to a Defense Department study.

Civilians are not given access to the system, even though the Defense Department is responsible for assisting all overseas voters. Security experts and Congressional auditors say the system is vulnerable to undetectable vote tampering and hacking. The Election Assistance Commission, which is responsible for creating guidelines to enable secure Internet voting, is years away from doing so.

“A system should be in place, regardless of the cost, to make sure that the very defenders of our democracy have the opportunity to take part in it,” wrote Sgt. James Mowrer, an Iowa National Guardsman deployed in Iraq who helped organize voters in his unit in 2006, in an e-mail message.

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We won't use it

We get the absentee ballots through the mail and return them the same way...

We keep in direct contact with the state(s)

but hey, they don't seem to account for much here either.
How much longer do you have over there, S M? Do you want to stay? Go?

and if they allow us, we'll retire

We're considering not moving back after retirement (we love it here) - but I do miss my brother and sisters ....

We've discussed a few states (California, Hawaii) - like the ocean and not fond of snow :)

My DH retired from the CG; people would move every 2-4 years usually. I guess that's just not feasible anymore. I'm sad you had to say, "if they allow us". It never used to be that way, either.
Enjoy Europe! I wish I was there to live for a few years!
And as for the US, you do know you picked two of THE MOST expensive states to dream about?!
:hi:

And expense is a consideration but well, island living sounds nice :)

We're hoping America will be in a better place by the time we retire. We're insulated here in a lot of ways from what goes on back home and we know that - and we've gotten to enjoy it as well...which isn't exactly a good thing.

We look at states and know we don't want to live around a bunch of conservatives.

So any suggestions are welcome.