The Navy tried to get all sailors the information they needed to vote, even designating the week of Sept. 27 as Absentee Voting Week, but there was at least one thing the service couldn’t predict — Hurricane Sandy.
The Navy is making sure that those sailors helping with storm cleanup on the amphibious assault ship Wasp get a chance to vote, according to CNN’s Security Clearance blog.
When Sandy approached, the Navy ordered Wasp to stay out at sea to avoid it. After the storm passed, the ship was sent to the New York/New Jersey area to provide assistance, if needed, and act as a landing platform for other federal agencies.
If the storm had not hit, the ship would’ve been at its home port in Norfolk, Va., for Election Day.
Many of the sailors on board have already voted absentee in their home counties, CNN reported. Navy officials helped sailors registered in Virginia print a federal write-in ballot from the Internet, then collected the ballots to be counted, Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Chris Servello told CNN.
The National Guard Bureau said commanders should make a rotating schedule for National Guardsmen serving in their home states so those helping with storm cleanup can get to a polling place.
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