Absentee

Imagine being a soldier fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq so that citizens there have the right to vote, but not being able to vote yourself. This is a reality for many in our nation's armed services. Fortunately, Maryland now has a new way to make sure its citizens who are serving overseas in the military and the diplomatic corps — or who are away on business or at college — can exercise their precious right to vote. Along with senior citizens and the disabled, these groups often experience great difficulty voting because of the challenges in getting to their polling place.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters has mailed 130,000 absentee ballot applications to registered voters — an effort that could prove beneficial to Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and other candidates endorsed by the environmental advocacy group. The applications were expected to begin showing up in mailboxes Tuesday. The mailing and follow-up phone calls and e-mails represent the largest voter outreach effort by the Maryland group. In 2006, the league sent out applications and postcards to 70,000 voters.

A member of the Maryland National Guard has filed a federal lawsuit against the State Board of Elections, claiming military personnel and other overseas Marylanders could be denied the opportunity to vote for state offices in the general election unless the court intervenes. In the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, the anonymous guardsman identified as Officer John Doe says the state did not give overseas voters enough time to obtain and return ballots for statewide offices in the Nov. 2 elections, which include the contest for governor.

Challenger Gregg Bernstein had a narrow lead over incumbent Patricia C. Jessamy in the race for Baltimore City State's Attorney, as election returns continued to be tallied after midnight. Neither candidate declared victory as the waiting dragged into Wednesday morning and vote totals reported by the city showed a race too close to call. With results from roughly 96 percent of the city's precincts, Bernstein's lead was around 1,400 votes. Confusion erupted at the city board of elections headquarters at about 1 a.m. Wednesday as supporters of both candidates demanded to know why the results from 4 of the city's 290 precincts were not available.

Sept. 7 is the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot by mail, fax or e-mail for the Sept. 14 primary. Requests can be printed from the State Board of Elections website at http://www.elections.state.md.us , or requested by telephone, in writing, or in person at the voter's local board of elections. After Sept. 7, all requests for an absentee ballot must be made in person at a local board of elections. Starting the second Friday before the election (Sept. 3) through the Thursday before the election (Sept.

I was very excited when I read your article about early voting and especially the ability to access absentee ballots on-line and send them in ("Vote early, not often," Editorial, Aug. 29). I can get out to vote (I work for the Baltimore County Public Schools and we are closed on election day) but I prefer not to. I am 61 years old and have voted in every election since I was old enough. but I would love to be able to vote from my home. I attempted to access the on-line ballot and it won't pull up. I am fairly computer knowledgeable and it frustrates me so I can only imagine how this is going to put other people off and limit the number folks who use the service.

Every four years, for more than three decades, voters in Maryland and the District of Columbia have been going to the polls for primary elections in September after the kids are back in school and the summer travel season had ended. But after the 2010 elections, the traditional September primary might become as anachronistic as the hand-counted ballot, as states begin abiding by a new federal law designed to make voting easier for overseas service members. As part of a defense spending bill approved in October, Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, which requires that service members receive absentee ballots at least 45 days before the November general election.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, speaking in highly personal terms as the son of an absentee father, devoted much of his workday Friday to promoting the importance of parental commitment and mentoring. Celebrities from the worlds of music and sports joined the president at the start of Father's Day weekend for what Obama called the beginning of a national conversation about fatherhood and personal responsibility. "I decided that if I could be one thing in life, it would be to be a good father," he told a White House audience, after saying that his father's decision to walk away from his family had left "a hole in a child's heart" that couldn't be filled.

With tens of thousands of ballots yet to be counted, the bitterly fought House race between Democrat Frank M. Kratovil Jr. and Republican Andy Harris is unlikely to be settled before the end of next week, state officials said yesterday. Kratovil, the state's attorney for Queen Anne's County, led Harris, a state senator from Cockeysville, by fewer than 1,000 of the more than 329,000 votes cast Tuesday in the contest for the seat now held by longtime Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest. The tally doesn't include the more than 25,000 absentee ballots that elections officials are to begin counting today.