NYT: States Move to Allow Overseas and Military Voters to Cast Ballots by Internet

WASHINGTON — Nearly three million overseas and military voters from at least 33 states will be permitted to cast ballots over the Internet in November using e-mail or fax, in part because of new regulations proposed last month by the federal agency that oversees voting.  (Hawaii will be using fax, see below.)

The move comes as state and federal election officials are trying to find faster ways to handle the ballots of these voters, which often go uncounted in elections because of distance and unreliable mail service.

About 22 percent of military and overseas voters surveyed were unable to return their ballots in the 2008 election because of such problems, according to the Overseas Vote Foundation, a nonpartisan advocacy group….

Initial steps have been taken to address the problem. In last year’s Defense Department authorization bill, several provisions were added, including one requiring all states to provide military voters with ballots at least 45 days before the election.

It also allowed states to initiate pilot programs for testing the use of Internet voting, but some states have misinterpreted that as requiring such systems.

Most of the states that have created pilot programs for Internet voting will allow voters to send completed ballots as an e-mail attachment. Others use fax, which used to be limited to phone lines. But because of the growing use of voice-over-Internet phone service, faxes are increasingly being sent on the Web.

“We have nothing but positive things to say about our experience,” said Pat Hollarn, who retired last year as supervisor of elections for Okaloosa County, Fla., which has allowed voters to cast ballots via e-mail since 2000. Ms. Hollarn said she continued to support expanded Internet voting.

She explained that rather than allowing voters to cast ballots by e-mail, her county uses encryption software and sends these ballots through a protected virtual private network. The voters can cast ballots only from special kiosks in the foreign country….

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RELATED: Hawaii's 2010 election schedule violates new federal law

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Hawaii State-wide Voter Information  from Overseas Vote Foundation

For Overseas and Military Voters Only

Citizen Voters	post	fax	email	tel
Registration form transmission			-	-
Ballot request form transmission			-	-
"Blank ballot to voter"			-	-
Voted ballot return			-	-
If you do not receive your ballot within 5 days of the election, Hawaii will fax it to you upon request and you may return it by fax with a waiver to the secrecy of your ballot.

Military Voters	post	fax	email	tel
Registration form transmission			-	-
Ballot request form transmission			-	-
"Blank ballot to voter"			-	-
Voted ballot return			-	-
If you do not receive your ballot within 5 days of the election, Hawaii will fax it to you upon request and you may return it by fax with a waiver to the secrecy of your ballot.