Votes of Pennsylvanians overseas must be counted

Senator Robbins urges Rendell end opposition to fed Justice Department suit

Stressing that the voices of Pennsylvania's servicemen and women serving overseas must be heard in the upcoming election, Senator Robbins (R-50) and two other state Senators today urged Governor Ed Rendell to stop fighting the U.S. Justice Department's suit to give military and overseas voters extra time to return their absentee ballots.

In a letter to the Governor, Senator Don White, R-41th District and Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, Senator Bob Robbins, R-50th District a Vietnam War Veteran, and Senator John Pippy, R-37th District and an Army Reserve Captain who served in Iraq and Kuwait, said military and overseas voters should have an extra two weeks to return their ballots.

"A large proportion of overseas voters are our men and women in the Armed Forces who fight courageously across the globe to protect our country and our Commonwealth. At the very least, we should take the imminently reasonable step of extending a deadline by two weeks in order to ensure that these brave soldiers can participate in this election – one of the most basic rights of citizenship," the three senators said in their letter.

Ralph Nader's status on the ballot has created problems, especially in regard to the absentee ballot process. The three lawmakers commended the Governor for deciding to honor absentee ballots with Ralph Nader listed as a candidate as valid. However, delays in mailing the ballots mean some Pennsylvanians serving overseas simply will not be able to get their ballots back in time.

"Although spokesmen have indicated that the administration is doing everything it can to ensure those individuals will have their vote counted, there are clearly more steps that can be taken," the lawmakers wrote. "Not all counties mailed military ballots by the September 20th deadline. In fact, by as late as October some counties still had not gone forward with mailing military and overseas ballots."

Contact: Michael Hengst 717-787-1322