| Although final tallies will not be counted for three months, voters in the military communities of Europe and the Middle East appear to have voted at lower rates this year than overall overseas military personnel did in 2000. More than 5,000 last-minute ballots were mailed from U.S. post offices in Europe, according to figures released Tuesday by the Air Force, Army and Navy. As of Election Day, 88,788 ballots had been mailed from APO and FPO address in Europe, up 5,250 from Thursday. The Air Force mailed 42,130 ballots, the Army mailed 36,203 and the Navy, 10,455. The eligible pool of military and depending voters in Europe is about 150,000 people, meaning roughly 59 percent of eligible voters mailed back ballots for this year's election. |