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Jackson, MS—At the request of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is one of five Secretaries of State from across the nation currently visiting our troops overseas. The bipartisan trip was designed to connect
personally in the field with military men and women, to encourage them to
cast their vote in the 2008 General Election and to discuss the process of
military voting. Today, Secretary Hosemann went to Baghdad, Iraq and met with soldiers and voting officers and then continued his tour to Balad Air Force Base in Iraq and met with voting officers and watched how an absentee ballot is mailed and processed. Secretary Hosemann will continue to visit other locations throughout the week. Because our troops are located in potentially unstable areas, we are unable to release any other details about Secretary Hosemann’s visit at this time. (Photo left: Staff Sergeant Stephanie Zolnak, stationed at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, explains the process absentee ballots go through after they are delivered to JBB post offices. Courtesy: U.S. Army Central DVIDS) “This is a privilege for me to visit with Mississippi soldiers and encourage them to vote in the upcoming election,” says Secretary Hosemann. “I am honored to represent Mississippi and be one of the few Secretaries of State visiting our troops abroad about this most important election.” “Mississippi is a leader in military voting,” says Secretary Hosemann. “We were the first to provide a means for our soldiers to cast their ballot by email, and now I am getting the opportunity to personally talk to soldiers and encourage them to use this excellent tool for casting their ballot.” This trip comes at no cost to Mississippi taxpayers and is sponsored by the Department of Defense. _______________________ Secretary of State Visits Troops in Afghanistan Update: 10/2/08 - GCN Jackson, MS—Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has just landed in Kuwait after a two-day visit in Afghanistan. Secretary Hosemann is one of five Secretaries of State from across the nation invited by the Department of Defense to visit troops overseas to promote the 2008 General Election and the process of military voting. “These troops are literally returning from combat in the field to do all they can to ensure they cast their ballot in a timely fashion,” says Secretary Hosemann. “It is our duty as Mississippians to have that same diligence.” After a briefing on field operations in Afghanistan, Secretary Hosemann watched first-hand the postal process for absentee ballots and met with troops in Bagram. The Secretary of State had the opportunity to visit with several Mississippi troops, including Captain Christian Patterson of Clinton, about military voting and presented them with Mississippi flags which had been flown over the State Capitol. After the visit in Bagram, the delegation proceeded to Kabul. Secretary Hosemann met with several members of the armed services as well as different branches of government and embassy personnel and received input on how to improve the absentee ballot process for soldiers and U.S. citizens abroad. The president of the National Association of Secretaries of State has asked Secretary Hosemann to compose a report on the feedback from troops overseas and the discussions with the Secretaries of State, as well as details on how Mississippi conducts military voting. Mississippi was the first state to allow email voting. Secretary Hosemann says Mississippi will now have a role in drafting language for consideration by each state using our Mississippi model. “We literally listened to the planes all night in Afghanistan taking off for the front lines,” says Secretary Hosemann. “These soldiers are risking their lives every day to make sure we maintain our democratic right to vote. If they can vote, so can you. Go to your local Circuit Clerks office and register to vote well before the October 4th deadline.”
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