Federal Agencies Told to Ship Ballots to Troops in Time

Federal Agencies Told to Ship Ballots to Troops in Time

In a shocking move, the federal government has ordered 12 states to ship ballots to military personnel and overseas voters by a certain deadline, or face the consequences. The MOVE Act, passed in 2009, requires states to send absentee ballots to UOCAVA voters no later than 45 days before a federal election, unless they have been granted an undue hardship waiver.

The Department of Defense determines whether to grant waivers to states that are unable to comply with the requirement. This year, 12 states applied for waivers, but only five were approved. Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands had their waiver requests denied, while Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington were granted an extension.

The Department has filed five lawsuits against states to compel compliance with the law. In one case, Wisconsin was sued for failing to send ballots to military voters by the deadline. The lawsuit was resolved by a consent decree, which required Wisconsin officials to take certain steps to ensure that all local election offices sent absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by no later than October 1, 2010.

In another case, Guam was sued for failing to mail ballots to affected voters by the September 18, 2010, deadline. The federal district court in Guam granted the department’s request for permanent injunctive relief, forcing Guam to comply with the law.

The MOVE Act is designed to protect the right of service members to vote in federal elections, regardless of where they are stationed. The law has been aggressively enforced by the federal government in the past several months, with significant resources devoted to ensuring successful implementation of the Act’s requirements.

The deadline for states to ship ballots to military personnel and overseas voters is fast approaching, and it remains to be seen whether all states will comply with the law. One thing is certain, however: the federal government will be watching closely to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have them counted.

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