Oakland County, Michigan, August 26, 2009 -- A bill that will help ensure the votes of  overseas troops make it back to Michigan in time to be counted was introduced today in the State Legislature. The county clerks for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne Counties, who had joined forces to push for the legislation initially, applauded the move and urged lawmakers to support House Bill 5279.

"These are men and women who are overseas, away from their families and often risking their lives to protect our freedom," said Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson. "Michigan has to step up and make sure their right to vote is protected here at home."

Johnson, Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh and Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett created OPERATION: OUR TROOPS COUNT in July after a national report from the Pew Center on the States called Michigan a "No Time to Vote" state for overseas troops. House Bill 5279 will streamline the process by allowing ballots to be emailed to overseas voters. Voters will then print the ballot, fill it out and send it back using traditional mail. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Ethics & Elections.

State Rep. Vince Gregory (D-Southfield), a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, sponsored the bill. Co-sponsors included State Representatives: Robert Jones; Woodrow Stanley; Ellen Cogen Lipton; Richard LeBlanc; Harold Haugh; Kate Ebli; Pam Byrnes; Tom Pearce; Bert Johnson; Roy Schmidt; Mike Huckleberry; Barb Byrum; Joan Bauer; Gino Polidori; Richard Hammel; Marc Corriveau; Gabe Leland; Vicki Barnett; Marty Knollenberg; Robert Dean; Jon Switalski;  Shanelle Jackson; Kathy Angerer; Andy Coulouris; Fred Miller; Lesia Liss; David Agema; Hugh Crawford; Tim Melton; Lisa Brown and  David Nathan.

"Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett and I believe we need to make sure those fighting for democracy can participate in it," said Sabaugh. "We can do it with existing technology while cutting taxpayer postage costs."

The commanders for eleven (11) veterans organizations in Michigan, including the American Legion, the Marine Corps League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, the Catholic War Veterans, the Jewish War Veterans and the Vietnam Veterans of America, support the legislation.

The problem stems largely from overseas mailing delays.  Unlike other states, where absentee ballots are faxed or emailed, Michigan's absent voter application forms and ballots are sent through the mail - a process that can take six weeks or more.

In the November 2008 general election, for example, nearly 30 percent of the Macomb County absent voter ballots mailed overseas - 225  of 774 - were not returned on or before Election Day. Overseas mail delays were definitely part of the problem, say the clerks.  This contrasts with just 3 percent of Macomb County absent voter ballots mailed to citizens within the United States that were not returned.

Nearly 30 other states allow absentee ballots to be sent by email to overseas voters. This could provide less than a 24-hour turnaround time to get absentee ballots to troops once a request is made, reduce postage fees for local communities and could be implemented statewide at little to no cost.  The proposed system would be extremely secure. Ballots would be encrypted and emailed using secure means. Every completed absentee ballot returned from overseas - just like every absentee ballot distributed within the United States - would be tied to a single voter and undergo strenuous signature verification to protect the security and integrity of the system.

 U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Laura Rios, who served overseas for 12 years, including time in Iraq, said there were times her vote didn't count and it was disheartening. She was excited to see the legislation introduced. Rios now works as a veterans counselor for Macomb County.

"I would get the ballot the day it was due - that's when I received it," said Rios. "All of us have family back here, homes back here and we want a say. My vote should count like everyone else's. We take orders from the commander-in-chief and we don't get to have a say on who that should be?"

Gregory said he hopes that his fellow legislators move the bill quickly through the House and Senate. "Men and women are putting their lives on the line for this country," Gregory said Wednesday. "As legislators, we have to do what is right - ensure their vote counts on Election Day."