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FOR SEVERAL DAYS NOW, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING INTO THE PROBLEMS FACED WHEN MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN OVERSEAS TRY TO VOTE. TONIGHT - THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF OUR REPORT. CHAS HENRY JOINS ME NOW HERE IN THE STUDIO. CHAS, THIS HAS BEEN QUITE AN INVESTIGATION.

Chas Henry:

IT HAS, BEVERLY AND WE'RE CONCLUDING TONIGHT WITH TWO BIG QUESTIONS. WHY CAN'T MILITARY PEOPLE OVERSEAS VOTE BY INTERNET AND DO ALL MILITARY PEOPLE VOTE ALIKE?

Story:

BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TRAVEL ON DIGITAL NETWORKS EVERY DAY. CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS DO, TOO. SO WHY ARE MILITARY VOTERS STILL REQUIRED TO SEND BALLOTS THROUGH THE MAIL?

Samuel Wright, National Defense Committee: "If electronic systems are secure enough for huge sums of money, and for our nations most important secrets, why cannot we have, in the twenty first century, a system whereby the deployed service member could receive, mark and return his ballot by secure electronic means?"

Rosemary Rodriguez, Chair, Election Assistance Commission: "Because there's money at stake, the banking system invests a whole lot of money in security of that money, and there's a lot less money to invest in, voting equipment, regrettably."

THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH THE IDEA.

Bob Carey, Overseas Vote Foundation: "The federal voting assistance program has tried twice in order to bring on line internet voting programs, spent upwards of twenty seven, thirty million dollars and have had a total of about two hundred fifty votes tracked back to these various internet or online voting programs."

THEN, CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY AND PAPER TRAILS BROUGHT THE PROGRAMS TO AN END. THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ARE LOOKING INTO THOSE WORRIES. THEIR REPORT LIKELY WON'T BE PUBLISHED UNTIL AFTER THE COMING ELECTION, AND WILL PROBABLY SUGGEST IT WOULD BE OKAY TO E-MAIL BALLOTS TO VOTERS, WHILE STILL REQUIRING THEY BE RETURNED BY MAIL.

HERE'S ANOTHER QUESTION: THINK YOU KNOW HOW MILITARY PEOPLE VOTE? A POLITICAL SCIENTIST WHO STUDIES THE MILITARY SAYS, COUNTER TO SOME CONVENTIONAL WISDOM, THEY DON'T VOTE AS A BLOC.

Peter Feaver, Duke University: "What you find is a military that more or less tracks the demographics from which it comes.

THAT IS, PEOPLE WILL VOTE GENERALLY LIKE CIVILIAN COUNTERPARTS OF THE SAME AGE, EDUCATION AND ETHNICITY -- THOUGH PROBABLY SKEWING JUST A BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN THE NORM IN EACH GROUP. AND WHILE CAREER MILITARY PEOPLE -- A RELATIVELY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL FORCE -- HAVE TENDED TO VOTE REPUBLICAN IN GREATER NUMBERS, THE LEANING MAY NOT BE HARD AND FAST.

Peter Feaver, Duke University: "One survey that has surveyed the same population every year has shown a steady erosion in that identity with the Republican Party. And if that survey is representative of what's going on in the broader force, then some of these previous findings may represent high water marks, rather than a continuing trend."

AND WHAT ABOUT RUMORS OVER THE YEARS THAT SOME ADMINISTRATIONS HAVE DONE EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO ENCOURAGE A MILITARY VOTE AND OTHERS HAVE HELD BACK? PETER FEAVER SAYS IT'S LIKELY AN URBAN MYTH.

Peter Feaver, Duke University: "If you got caught trying to dampen the military vote in any way, the consequences would be horrific for you, the political consequences of the outcry, even if you were able to shave a vote here or there."

MORE LIKELY BY DEFAULT THAN DESIGN, THOUGH, THE SYSTEM IN PLACE DOES EXCLUDE MANY MILITARY VOTERS. AND IN THE STATES, THERE'S LITTLE TALK OF REFORM.

Bob Carey, Overseas Vote Foundation: "Elected officials were elected by the current laws, which disenfranchise military personnel. And the military personnel don't represent that big of a voting bloc."

COME NOVEMBER, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN SERVING THEIR COUNTRY OVERSEAS WILL AGAIN TRY TO VOTE. DEFENSE LEADERS ARE CONVINCED MOST WILL BE ABLE.

Scott Wiedmann, Federal Voting Assistance Program: "There's definitely the opportunity for every military member and every overseas citizen to take part in the process.

MANY OTHERS WORRY, THOUGH, THAT THE VOTES OF PERHAPS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

Rosemary Rodriguez, Chair, Election Assistance Commission: "If anybody should be receiving their ballots, and able to vote, without any problems, it should be the military voter."

HOPEFUL AS THEY REQUEST AND MAIL OFF THOSE BALLOTS, BUT STILL NOT CERTAIN THEY'LL BE ABLE TO EXERCISE THE RIGHT THE SUPREME COURT IN EIGHTEEN EIGHTY SIX CALLED "PRESERVATIVE OF ALL OTHER RIGHTS."