First, consider this…

First, consider this poll:

Military veterans favor President Bush over John Kerry by a 58 to 35 percent margin, according to a new poll.

The Rasmussen Reports survey also showed those with no military service favor Kerry by ten percentage points, 51 to 41.

Of those Americans who say they know someone serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, 54 percent favor Bush, compared to 44 percent siding with Kerry.

On the question of who would make a better commander in chief, Bush edges Kerry, 47 to 45 percent.

Fifty-four percent of veterans give the president good or excellent ratings for handling the situation in Iraq, the poll showed.

Now consider this news story:

In what could be a repeat of the 2000 election, thousands of votes from U.S. troops overseas could go uncounted unless deadlines for their acceptance are extended.

That’s the warning from a Chicago election official who wrote President Bush on the matter.

“Every election cycle, election authorities such as Chicago receive military absentee ballots days or even weeks after the deadline, thus disqualifying these votes from being included in the election tally,” wrote Theresa Petrone, a Democrat on the city’s three-person Board of Election Commissioners, according to the Associated Press.

“With hundreds of thousands of military personnel serving overseas, the voting bloc obviously could determine the outcome of our next presidential election.”

Four years ago, some 30 percent of military voters who sought absentee ballots didn’t receive them in time to vote.

At the time, one Maine resident – who asked WorldNetDaily that she not be identified – said her Navy daughter who was stationed in Tokyo received her absentee ballot for every election except 2000.

“No one at the base will be voting because all the absentee ballots are missing,” she said.

The saga led WorldNetDaily to cover the issue of military voting in depth during the 2000 election cycle, and later to publish a special report on the controversy, titled “Election 2000: How the military vote was suppressed” by investigative reporter Jon Dougherty.

Petrone is now suggesting the president propose emergency legislation giving officials up to two weeks to collect and count ballots after Election Day.

If these military ballots don’t get properly delivered, think Kerry (or, heh heh, Gore) will press for “counting every vote”? Hold not thy breath.

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