Wayne Allard: “In 1864, in the midst of a civil war, the United States of America held an election. In 1944, in the midst of a world…”

“In 1864, in the midst of a civil war, the United States of America held an election. In 1944, in the midst of a world war, the United States of America held an election. And in 2002, and in 2004, no matter what military actions we are involved in for the current war on terrorism, the United States of America will hold elections. It is a fundamental part of our system, of our democracy. Our claim to being the world's foremost champion of ``liberty and justice for all'' depends on the regular, free, and pure exercise of citizen's voting rights. And now that we are deploying troops overseas as the beginning of this campaign, it is our duty to correct the flaws in the absentee military voting system that became so glaringly obvious during the last election. To that end I introduced S. 381, which after much helpful input from the co-sponsors has been modified into what is before us today. This amendment prohibits States from disqualifying our men and women in the military from voting based on their ballot's lack of postmark, address, notarized witness signature, or a reasonably similar signature.”