Texas State lawmakers passed a bill in 2013 directing the Secretary of State to allow one county in Texas to allow soldiers in hostile fire zones to cast email ballots.
Then-Secretary of State, John Steen chose Bexar County, home of San Antonio and the 50,000 enlisted members of the military at Joint Base San Antonio, to be first for the program.
The office of current Secretary of State, Carlos Cascos, said 365 ballots were emailed to soldiers overseas for the November 2014 General Election. Eight voters, who had to sign affidavits stating they were in a hostile fire zone, emailed the ballots back, said Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen. In the March 2015 primary, three ballots out of 22 that were sent overseas were returned via email.
“I consider it a huge success,” Callanen said in a recent interview at the Capitol, where she was testifying for a bill that would expand the pilot program to two military-rich counties.
State lawmakers now are poised to expand the program with a bill by tea party-backed Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. The expansion is likely to include Bell County, home to Fort Hood, and El Paso County, home to Fort Bliss and extend it until January 2017, which would include all 70,000 enlisted members.
“We should go the extra mile to ensure that the very men and women serving overseas to defend our freedoms have the right to vote and that we are not putting obstacles in their path to participate in the democratic process,” Campbell said in a statement.
And according to a survey conducted by Callanen after the November election, there are plenty of obstacles. Voters who received emailed ballots but had to send them in by regular mail complained about the cumbersome process, which insists voters use at least two envelopes to mail in their ballots. Others noted issues with formatting and printing. Some worried that their ballots wouldn’t be counted. Many who had to mail in ballots questioned why they couldn’t email them back.
For years, Texas soldiers stationed overseas have been able to request ballots electronically, but then they must print them out, complete their votes and send them in via regular mail, which can take weeks.
In 2009, Congress passed a law that enabled states to experiment with emerging technology and initiate pilot programs. Some 18 states now allow military voters to submit absentee ballots through email, said Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Department of Defense spokesman. Five other states allow state ballots to be returned via email in certain circumstances, he said.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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