Military ballots get special handling

The Bush administration is giving special status to ballots cast overseas by U.S. military personnel. The move aims to avoid one of the most controversial aspects of the 2000 presidential vote recount in Florida and is important politically because military votes historically favor Republican candidates. The Pentagon and the U.S. Postal Service have set up a system to speed ballots cast by soldiers, sailors and Marines stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The system includes color-coded mailing trays, use of Express Mail and orders that mail clerks cancel, or postmark, all military voting ballots to avoid confusion once the envelopes arrive at county election offices. [more]