Trump wants to make it harder for the military to vote from overseas

[babylonsister]

Trump wants to make it harder for the military to vote from overseas
By Oliver Willis -
August 23, 2019


It could cost service members $60 to mail in their ballots.

The Trump administration is set to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, which could significantly increase the cost of sending ballots through the mail for members of the military and other Americans living overseas.

"Last October, the U.S. gave the required one-year notice stating it would leave the UPU unless changes were made to the discounted fees that China pays for shipping small packages to the United States," the Fulcrum reported on Monday.

Withdrawing from the UPU would prevent overseas citizens from returning their ballots via regular mail service, and Kentucky Elections director Jared Dearing told the outlet they could have to pay in the region of $60 to use a commercial shipping service.

Roughly 500,000 oversea ballots were cast in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has recent history demonstrating opposition to military votes.

Last year, as votes were being counted in Florida's midterm election races, Trump pushed for military ballots to be ignored.

more...

https://shareblue.com/trump-wants-to-make-it-harder-for-the-military-to-vote-from-overseas/?fbclid=IwAR07xdg5AQ0KX3YTi1HXSwGQzLhbOYQ73r9CmGm5q9TJIy-CJ5aYRqx3mIs

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Wouldn't this hurt Rs more than Ds?

Regardless, it's wrong and typical of Cheeto Benito's destructive bent.

[zaj]

6. Well, this is political messaging...

It's cheat that they are amplify an unintended side effect and making it out to sound like the goal.

Hate to be fair to Trump in this one, but... Yet I here I am.

[stopdiggin]

19. you're right -- mostly an unintended consequence

Trump does all manner of stupid and ugly sh**. We don't have to waste time manufacturing controversy .. it's right there under your nose.

[Ohiogal]

2. Oh but he says he loves our military!

[Iliyah]

3. Why?

Don't they usually vote Republican?

Anywho, they are in the world protecting the USA and WH dipshits don't care.

[flor-de-jasmim]

7. First they came for the Republicans, and I did not react,

Because I am not a Republican...

A principle is a principle, and a right is a right.

[calimary]

16. Putting THEIR lives on the line for their country - like he NEVER did.

Cute.



What a fucking JERK.

[Rebl2]

4. Fine with

me if they don’t allow military votes from (or make it more difficult)overseas since they vote Republican usually.

[rlexx]

11. Generalize much...

I've never voted for a Republican presidential candidate....

I voted absentee ballot in 1984 because I was deployed

[Perseus]

12. Statistically you are the exception to the rule

Here, you can google it:

In Sep. 2016, the Military Times published a poll showing how US military service members intended to cast their vote in the November presidential election. Surprisingly, Libertarian Gary Johnson took the lead, followed closely by Republican candidate Donald Trump, with Democrat Hillary Clinton trailing a distant third.

[rlexx]

30. Wow a Military Times poll....that's authoritative...

the USA Today of the Military....though I would agree that would be the order...but that makes it okay to suppress their votes?

[blm]

5. Overseas voters, inc military, usually vote for Dems.

They experience daily how hated this president is around the world.

[Perseus]

13. That has never been the case though

I could not tell what they are thinking for 2020, but history has been they vote republican...the military tends to believe the crap that republicans are good for protecting the country, even though they see republicans cozy up to Putin and other dictators, and this is even before trump, and because we have a high ignorance level in voters, they believe the crap and vote republican.

[blm]

17. Military splits, and the overall votes lean heavily Dem.

Overseas vote isn’t just the military. In 2004 Bush campaign worried about overseas vote, including the military vote.

[yaesu]

24. I have, regretfully, talked to a number of vets who have recently served overseas

and all of them love tRump, most have come back hard core anti Muslim.

[lpbk2713]

8. This should be seen as a form of a poll tax and thus illegal.

They are not thousands of miles away from their home precinct by choice.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. I remember the 2000 election in Florida. People were snarling about giving

the military extra days to turn in their votes. And there were even rumors that ballots that voted for Gore were found in the trash.

Why are the Republicans suddenly afraid of that mail in ballot?

[Perseus]

15. Those were not rumors...they did find ballots in the trash

Read Greg Palast book:

"Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps" you will find proof there about ballots found in trash.

And this is what is so frustrating, Democrats know that republicans cheat, they did it last year in Georgia in plain view, they did it in 2000 when Katherine Harris disenfranchised thousands, even made mistakes that showed their cheating, I believe trump did not win, not even enough votes for the electoral college, I believe they hacked machines and who knows what else they did, and I don't see proactive actions from Democrats to make sure it doesn't happen again? What gives?

[Baitball Blogger]

18. I believe it was stolen.

My ballot wasn't allowed to go through the scanner at the voting precinct, so I take it personally. It was a hardcore Republican precinct and the old guys do slippery things.

[FakeNoose]

10. Military personnel should be allowed to vote via secure email

It can be made secure and impossible to defraud, they just have to decide to do it. I would never support any effort that disenfranchises the military fighting men and women. This should never happen.

[Brother Buzz]

14. Active overseas military would vote by US mail

Or has something changed?

[stopdiggin]

21. a headline to manufacture controversy

they're taking an action by the administration (threatened withdrawal from the Universal Postal) and spinning it to be directed at the military vote. It's not. And the military would have very little trouble coming up with a way to circumvent any adverse consequence.

[babylonsister]

25. Seems the USPS is part of the UPU and will be affected by this:

It is not clear whether the USPS will have effective shipping solutions after leaving the UPU framework, working with new postal partnerships and a commercial partnership. On a personal note, I am sure USPS executives, management and staff are concerned and are working to continue to provide worldwide inbound and outbound international mail coverage. Whether they will be able to get agreements from all the necessary parties is the question. This goes beyond the postal administrations or governments of the other 191 UPU member countries, potentially including the customs agencies in those countries and the World Customs Organization and the UPU itself.

https://ipma.org/update-on-the-status-of-upu-discussions-april-15-2019-by-merry-law/

[Brother Buzz]

27. According to Stars and Stripes, mail for overseas military will be not be impacted

The military will find another way to send mail because of course they will. American civilians living abroad will be charged the poll tax, not the active duty military.

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/us-withdrawal-from-international-mail-treaty-could-alter-delivery-for-apo-fpo-addresses-1.592309

[majdrfrtim]

20. It's just a poll tax!

What could go wrong?

/s

(*I* voted by absentee from Iraq in 2008 while deployed there, as it turns out. We didn't have to pay postage to do that.)

[chowder66]

22. I don't care who they vote for they should NOT be charged to vote. This is ludicrous. nt

[yaesu]

23. 2/3rds voted for him during the last election so he is doing the fascists more harm than good

[IronLionZion]

26. Stars and Stripes link

US withdrawal from international mail treaty could alter delivery for APO-FPO addresses
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/us-withdrawal-from-international-mail-treaty-could-alter-delivery-for-apo-fpo-addresses-1.592309

The military will find another way to send mail because of course they will. American civilians living abroad will be charged the poll tax, not the active duty military.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. Withdrawing from the UPU is totally stupid.

All mail overseas, whichever direction, will get massively more expensive.

Most people don't realize that mail rates in this country are for the most part significantly lower than mail rates in other countries. That's both for domestic and overseas mail. Every time someone complains about the cost of a stamp, I want to hand them an addressed envelope, preferably to some isolated rural place somewhere, whatever the current cost of a stamp is, and challenge them to get it there within three days or less.

[MiniMe]

29. Sounds like a form of Poll tax

Which is illegal, not that tRump cares about the law