GOP candidate Adams ensured compliance with MOVE Act so military votes are counted
Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 10:57AM 
Florida congresswoman Sandy Adams will oppose Democrat Suzanne Kosmas in November for US House seat Dist. 24 in Florida.When the US Congress passed the MOVE Act in 2009, states were expected to comply with the uncomplicated legislation that seeks to make sure the military vote is counted. While some states have delayed their compliance, Florida has been praised for being ahead of the game.
The Sunshine State can thank Republican state congresswoman Sandra Adams (R-33) for sponsoring HB 131. The Pew Center said the state bill “implements provisions in the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act and resolves key voting problems for Americans abroad.”
Pew said Adams also “championed the passage of the bipartisan legislation.”
Adams will oppose Democrat congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas for the US House seat to represent Florida’s 24th District.
Approximately 10 states and the Virgin Islands have delayed making arrangements to comply with the federal MOVE Act. Even the nation’s capital, Washington, DC, isn’t compliant yet.
Pew said Florida is one of the “top three states with a significant military population.”
Activist groups like the Military Voter Protection Project have long sought a solution to what should be a simple problem to solve: making sure those who place their lives on the line get to vote.
A statement on the MVPP website said of the lapse in attention to the military vote, “The devastating effect of these failures was evident in the 2008 election. Thousands of military voters had their voices silenced when their absentee ballots were sent to wrong addresses, lost in the mail, or mailed too close to the election for the ballot to be returned. Thousands more were disenfranchised when their absentee ballot—through no fault of the military voter—arrived after the election deadline..”
The US Dept. of Justice has come under fire from Texas senator John Cornyn (R) for failing to ensure compliance in some states ahead of the November, 2010 elections. According to Fox News, noncompliant states include the president’s home state of Hawaii, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, among others.
Adams pushed the Florida bill through in May.
Adams won the Aug. 24th Primary in Florida, and will be the GOP candidate for US House Dist. 24 running to oppose Kosmas. Adams grew up in a military family and she also served in the US Air Force. Afterwards, she worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Orange County. She then served in the Florida legislature.
Kosmas pretty much votes with the Democrat Party on the issues, including ObamaCare and Cap and Trade. She’s worked in real estate and politics. Aside from placing the government in control of healthcare, ObamaCare cost or will cost Florida at least 700 jobs at Sallie Mae because the government also took over student loans via ObamaCare. The business-killing Cap and Trade bill has already caused several drastic increases in utility costs for Florida consumers and businesses because Gov. Charlie Crist is perceived as supporting a federal bill to regulate carbon emissions. Costs have also risen in anticipation of a federal bill.
Adams’ dedication to making sure Florida’s military vote is counted says a lot about her as a person. It seems to me we owe the men and women who secure our freedom the right to vote and there should be no excuses from a state unwilling to comply with the MOVE Act. Adams’ legislation established Florida as a leader on this vital issue.
Most media have given the MOVE Act little attention. If Florida's legislation passed in May, other states could have done the same to ensure compliance well ahead of primaries.
[By Kay B. Day/Aug. 26, 2010]
Ed. Note: No goods, gifts, favors or monetary rewards from any political party or candidate are accepted by The US Report.
Kay B. Day, Editor
The Daily Caller has an excellent backgrounder on the MOVE Act. Caroline May wrote, "The Election Assistance Commission reports that during the 2008 election, 17,000 American soldiers fighting overseas had their votes thrown out. According to J. Christian Adams, a former attorney for the Department of Justice’s Voting Rights Division, that year only an estimated 17% of deployed troops actually had their votes counted."
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/03/protecting-soldiers-voting-rights/#ixzz0xjdyPenB
It's hard to believe we can stand by and let this happen.--K. B. Day