A free new Web service was unveiled today by Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to make it easier for all military personnel and Minnesota voters overseas to participate in elections this fall, according to a news release. The Military and Overseas Voter Service provides easy-to-follow instructions to assist eligible military and overseas voters register and request absentee ballots.

A missionary from Eden Prairie's Wooddale Church was also present for the announcement.

"This Web site reflects Minnesota's continued leadership in election administration and civic participation," Ritchie said in the release. "When interviewing returning National Guard troops and voters about their previous overseas voting experiences our office learned that one way to improve their experiences was to design a one-stop voter information Web site that simplified the registration process for all military and overseas voters. With the passage this year of our Military and Overseas Voting bill, we may significantly increase voter participation this November by members of our Armed Services and others living abroad."

In 2006, 2,695 military and overseas voters successfully cast ballots in the mid-term election. In the 2004 presidential election, 7,646 military and overseas voters from Minnesota successfully cast ballots. The Pentagon estimates that there are approximately 90,000 Minnesotans who are eligible to use this service, the release said

Ritchie was joined by Lt. Col. John Kingrey and Chief Warrant Officer James Anderson who both have experience serving in tours abroad. Kingrey was stationed in Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 while Anderson served two tours, one in Kuwait and Afghanistan in 2004 and another in Iraq in 2006-2007. Also in attendance was Terri Miller, a missionary from Wooddale Church, Terri Burke, a student from University of Minnesota-Morris who will be student teaching abroad this fall, and Sheila Collins the program director for the Learning Abroad Center of the University of Minnesota. Each discussed their experience with overseas voting.

Steven Clift, a global expert on democracy online commented in the release, "Minnesotans around the world require 24-hour access to reliable and authoritative voting information online. This new service gives us that and demonstrates the future of government service on the Web."

To create this new free service, the Office of the Secretary of State worked closely with the Overseas Vote Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping eligible U.S. voters in the military or living overseas participate in their nation's democracy.

Ritchie also highlighted a recent Minnesota law change that affects how fast military personnel and voters overseas receive their absentee ballots. For the first time in Minnesota elections, all military and overseas voters may request that their ballots be sent to them by e-mail or fax, effectively cutting in half the transit time it previously took to receive a ballot. In addition, if a voter is required to move from one place to another while stationed overseas, the ability to receive a ballot by e-mail can make a difference in whether the ballot is received in time to be sent back to Minnesota to be counted. Minnesota law still requires voters to print out the ballot and return it by mail. This fulfills Minnesota's requirement that all votes are cast on paper ballots.