Secretary Of State Speaks About Visiting Troops In Afghanistan
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita is visiting Hoosier troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to encourage them to vote in the November election and observe the absentee voting process.The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 4 general election is Monday.
Rokita held a media teleconference call from Kuwait Thursday morning to answer questions about his travels to Iraq and Afghanistan to meet with troops.
Rokita, Indiana's chief election officer, returned Thursday to Kuwait after visiting troops and military voting representatives at the Bagram Air Force base and Camp Eggers in Afghanistan.
Rokita was among five secretaries of state invited by the Department of Defense to travel into Iraq and Afghanistan to inspect the absentee ballot process and meet with troops and military voting representatives. Rokita will visit Landstuhl Air Force Base, Germany, before returning home this weekend.
Rokita was joined on the trip to Iraq by Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes and secretaries of state from California, Florida and Mississippi.
Rokita said this is the first time the Department of Defense has invited secretaries of state to travel to the area of operation to observe the absentee ballot process.
"This has been an encouraging trip for me as a chief election officer to see first hand the amount of respect for and dedication to the voting process among our troops in the field," Rokita said during the teleconference.
Rokita said military personnel have been receptive to absentee voting, and he is encouraging them to vote absentee by Oct. 15.
While in Iraq meeting with troops, Rokita took part in the taping of public service announcements to be broadcast worldwide on the Armed Forces Network.
During the May 2008 primary in Indiana, voting among military personnel overseas was up more than 500 percent compared to the turnout in the 2006 primary.
To date, Hoosiers serving in the military stateside and abroad have requested more than 5,700 ballots for the November election, Rokita said.
"It is obvious that our men and women in uniform are enthusiastic about the upcoming elections and are very informed about the races on the ballot back home," Rokita said during the teleconference.
Rokita said it is important for people who know or have a relative in the military to encourage them to register to vote.
