LEGAL NEWSLINE

PIERRE, S.D. (Legal Newsline) - Overseas military absentee balloting in South Dakota has now gone digital.

According to a March 26 press release, the Secretary of State Jason Gant has flipped a switch and activated the iOASIS new overseas military voting technology process.

iOASIS turns a 60-day process into a less than five-minute transaction, ensuring all military overseas ballots are counted on election night.

The next round of South Dakota elections begin in April. The new iOASIS system is available to Gant's overseas military constituents when they begin the voting process, the press release states.

"iOASIS is based on a concept of simplicity," he said. "These voters will now be able to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, receive an absentee ballot and mark an absentee ballot in seconds. The ballot is then printed and returned for counting."

The South Dakota National Guard successfully tested the iOASIS program over 1,000 times in the U.S., allowing it to be taken to the next stage of development, the press release states.

Gant plans to present iOASIS to Congress as a viable option for modernizing the entire American absentee-ballot system.

"I am honored to be part of such a historic proposal," Gant said.

"This is only the first step. Our goal is to establish iOASIS as the absentee-ballot program for the entire country. The current methods of voting for military members are outdated, inefficient and complicated. It is time to take military voting into the 21st century. These brave men and women deserve the same opportunity that everyone else has. They risk their lives defending our right to vote; we need to defend theirs. I believe iOASIS is the appropriate answer."

From Legal Newsline: Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com