<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Absentee ballots: two little words that stir up all kinds of controversy. In 2000, they had an integral role in Florida's highly contested recount. In 2004, absentees made up roughly 30% of all votes...\n\nfacebook dialogPinterest\n\nAbsentee ballots: two little words that stir up all kinds of controversy. In 2000, they had an integral role in Florida's highly contested recount. In 2004, absentees made up roughly 30% of all votes cast nationwide, but there were reports of the ballots being mailed out too late for some voters to complete and return in time. In Broward County, Florida, some 58,000 absentee ballots went missing and subsequently were sent out late. There was also the story of Alison Hess and four other Princeton students who took a 40-hour road trip from the college's campus to Hess' hometown in Florida so she could cast her vote after the absentee ballot she applied for never came.\n\nBy definition, absentee ballots are ballots cast in absentia: they are mailed-in by voters that aren't going to be in their home towns on Election Day or who can't get to the polls for a variety of other reasons. Some states allow any registered citizen to vote by absentee ballot. Others require an excuse: if you're away at college, traveling, or disabled--for example--you're generally allowed to cast an absentee ballot.\n\nSounds simple enough, but what are the rules and deadlines for your state?\n\nLongDistanceVoter.org, a website that may well be the ultimate absentee voting resource, was created with these questions in mind. I recently caught up with its founder, Debra Cleaver, who told me about the inspirations for the site. \"We figured Long Distance Voter would be a great way to reach college students, who often vote by absentee ballot,\" Debra told me. I also asked her what made absentee voting so confusing: \"Every state has its own procedures,\" she replied. \"That's 50 states and 50 different sets of rules!\" But that's not the only cause of turmoil, \"I think another thing is the overseas and military ballots that arrive slightly after Election Day,\" Debra explained. \"The winner has already been declared by this point, so these voters feel like their ballots don't count. These ballots are counted, but they're generally a small percentage of the total vote, so they don't change the end result.\"\n\nMost absentee ballot deadlines are approaching rapidly, so check out the site to find out when they are due in your state. Hopefully, with Long Distance Voter's help, there'll be a little less absentee controversy in this year's election.\n\n&amp;amp;#x2013;LINDSAY TALBOT"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/long-distance-voter-goes-the-d>