WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- As absentee ballots pour in from U.S. troops overseas , officials are voicing concerns that many of those votes wo n't be counted . An absentee ballot from Arlington County in Virginia shows the names of the general election candidates . `` It 's dismal , '' said Rosemary Rodriguez , who works for the U.S . Elections Assistance Commission , a non-partisan group . `` These are the voters that are in some cases preserving our liberties and out there with their lives on the line . '' Rodriguez estimates that in the last general election , only about 30 percent of overseas military ballots were actually returned and counted . `` It 's disenfranchising our military and frankly I think it 's very unpatriotic , '' said retired Navy Lt. Melissa Cox Boss . A part of the problem is that each state has its own rules for absentee voting , and those rules can change in the middle of an election season . In Virginia , for example , the federal write-in ballot required a witness ' signature and address . That proved confusing for soldiers overseas because there was no box provided for a witness address . Rokey Suleman , the Fairfax County registrar , initially said he would have to discard 63 votes because voters neglected to provide a witness address . `` These ballots that are n't being met -- I ca n't accept as valid ballots at this point . If the law changes , I welcome a review of the law . I think the law is horrible , '' he said . Late Monday , Virginia 's attorney general agreed , saying all county registrars could ignore that part of the law . Other areas , like Arlington County , refused to disqualify the absentee ballots that were filled out improperly , contributing to the the AG 's decision to intervene . Another part of the problem is that delivering mail from a battlefield can be challenging , according to Rep. Kevin McCarthy . McCarthy , R-California , says absentee ballots mailed from war zones are not getting to county registrars fast enough to be legally counted . `` With all the modernization that we have , we should be able to move these ballots , track them at the same time , bring the modernization and technology we have today to make sure our heroes across this world get treated fairly , '' he said . McCarthy said he is pushing a bill through Congress that would address these issues , but not in time for this election . Overseas absentee ballots were at the center of the Florida recount during the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore . Bush aides and Republican surrogates blasted their Democratic rivals for having overseas absentee ballots disqualified in Florida counties , many for lack of postmarks . Many of those ballots were presumed to have been from service members supporting Bush . Joe Lieberman , the Democratic vice presidential candidate , denied that charge and said that the disputed votes deserve the `` benefit of doubt . '' `` [ Gore ] and I would never authorize and would not tolerate a campaign that was aimed specifically at invalidating ballots from members of our armed services , and I 've been assured that there were more absentee ballots from non-military voters that were ultimately disqualified , '' he said during an interview on NBC 's `` Meet the Press . '' More than a month after the election , the Florida Supreme Court upheld two state court rulings that cleared the way to count thousands of ballots in predominantly Republican Seminole and Martin counties .
States ' rules for absentee ballots vary ; rules can change during election season . 30 percent of overseas military ballots returned , counted in 2004 , official estimates . Comment: Military ballots were a focus in the 2000 recount in Florida .