GREENLEAF BILL SEEKS TO CHANGE ABSENTEE BALLOT RULES TO PREVENT FUTURE BARS TO VOTING BY OVERSEAS MILITARY

HARRISBURG – Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf said that he is upset by the recent federal judicial ruling that may prevent the counting of absentee ballots of thousands of Pennsylvania military personnel serving overseas and that he is sponsoring legislation to prevent such disenfranchisement.

Greenleaf's legislation would require that absentee ballots postmarked on or before the day of the election must be accepted as valid and that such votes may be counted for a period of up to two weeks after the election.

The senator said that he is disturbed by the decision of a federal judge who ruled October 20 that acceding to a U.S. Justice Department request to count the results of absentee ballots from overseas for up to two weeks after the election would "undermine the integrity and efficiency" of the elections in the commonwealth.  "I think that most Pennsylvanians feel that not counting the ballots of the military personnel serving abroad is undermining the integrity of this election," Greenleaf said.

The U.S. Justice Department asked for a ruling allowing for new ballots without the name of independent candidate Ralph Nader to be sent to overseas voters after court challenges to Nader's presence on the ballot in the commonwealth resulted in delays in the mailing of absentee ballots by the county election officials.  The State Supreme Court concurred on October 19 in a Commonwealth Court decision to block Nader from the Pennsylvania ballot.

"The fault in this mess does not lie with the overseas voters," Greenleaf said.  "Yet the service men and women from Pennsylvania are paying the price for the delays caused by the political fight over the validity of Nader's nominating petitions.  Obviously, the delay occasioned by the effort to keep Nader off the state ballot is an extraordinary circumstance that called for an exception to ensure that those who risk their lives to protect the right to vote have their votes counted," said Greenleaf.  "I am disturbed also by the argument, put forward by a representative of the Rendell administration, that overseas voters represent such a small fraction of the state electorate that it doesn't matter about their votes.  Every vote counts and every vote should be counted, and especially if the votes are being sent from soldiers overseas."