The beauty of electronic voting is that if a voter makes a technical error in the application or in the certification accompanying the marked ballot, there is plenty of time to correct the error before the election. This contrasts very favorably with traditional absentee voting, where those technical mistakes are almost invariably fatal. If a voter makes an error in the certification that is generally required on the back of the ballot return envelope, the election official does not even notify the voter of the error, because by then the election is over. We need federal legislation providing for electronic voting for military ersonnel and family members, within the United States or outside, and also for American citizens living abroad. Our goal should be implementation on a trial basis in the congressional elections of 2002, with full implementation in the Presidential election of 2004.
Federal legislation is required for two reasons.
National defense is a uniquely federal responsibility, and the federal government has the authority and the responsibility to ensure that military personnel and their families are not disenfranchised by the circumstances of their service. Second, we need federal legislation because we need one uniform national system that DoD can administer. DoD can administer one electronic voting system, but it cannot administer 50 such systems. It is not unreasonable to expect all 50 states to enact identical electronic voting provisions, at least within the lifetimes of those now serving in our Armed Forces. Many of those in uniform are serving overseas, or in parts of the country distant from their homes.