100,000 US expats, military to vote by Internet in 2004 ballot

WASHINGTON (AFP) Aug 04, 2003
Around 100,000 members of the armed forces and US expatriates from 10 states are to participate in a pilot scheme in the 2004 elections that lets them vote by Internet, the Defense Department said Monday.

"The (SERVE) Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment is being launched to provide an alternative to the by-mail process," said Polli Brunelli, the Defense Department official responsible for the program.

In the 2000 elections, 29 percent of voters located outside US territory said they either received their ballot too late or did not receive a ballot at all, according to the Defense Ministry.

"There is not enough roundtrip ballot transit time to overcome the time distance and mobility barriers faced by many of the absentee voters," Brunelli said.

Computers used by voters must by minimum requirement have Windows software and Internet access, he said.

The 22-million dollar program is expected to boost voter participation. In the fall 2000 election, votes by mail, which tend to go for the Republicans helped secure President George W. Bush his too close to call victory.

WAR.WIRE