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Key Toss-Up Races Held in States Where Military Absentee Ballots Face Delays
Fox News ^
| August 26, 2010
| James Rosen/Staff
Posted on 08/26/2010 6:41:05 PM PDT by jazusamo
Sens. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Michael Bennet of Colorado are just two incumbents locked in tight re-election races in states where local officials have warned they will likely not be able to ship out general election ballots to overseas military voters by the Sept. 18 deadline.
Both Democrats' race are listed as "toss-ups" by RealClearPolitics.com, and military ballots could make the difference.
But Wisconsin and Colorado are among 10 states where local officials say they may not be able to comply with Move Act provisions that call for ballots to be mailed out at least 45 days before the 2010 midterm election.
Fox News has identified four states -- Wisconsin, Colorado, Maryland and Washington -- where races may hinge on those absentee ballots and on whether their delivery works as intended on behalf of the fighting men and women abroad.
"Russ Feingold's election in 1998 was decided by fewer than 40,000 votes. This time around, our polls are showing him leading by one (percentage) point or maybe down by one point," said Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics.com. "So there is a chance that the 15,000 or so overseas military ballots could be what decides that election, if it ends up within 1,000 votes, which is entirely possible."
And in one Maryland congressional district, Frank Kratovil, a Democratic freshman, also faces a tight race for re-election.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Wisconsin
KEYWORDS: military; moveact; votingrights
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1
posted on
08/26/2010 6:41:08 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
To: jazusamo
Are these the 10? If so, get out there, folks, and get in the loop to count the votes. The Left steals this one for all the marbles.
Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin
(as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands)
2
posted on
08/26/2010 6:50:21 PM PDT
by
combat_boots
(The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spirito Sancto.)
To: jazusamo
What do you expect? They can't do everything necessary, leading up to the general elections; somethings go to give.
Printing, marking & hiding “insurance” ballots to be “found” in case of a close count takes precedence over sending out blank real ballots to likely opposition (military) voters.
3
posted on
08/26/2010 6:52:16 PM PDT
by
ApplegateRanch
(Made in America, by proud American citizens, in 1946.)
To: SandRat; ExTexasRedhead; JulieRNR21
The Democrats pay lip service to American soldiers, but actions speak louder than words.
4
posted on
08/26/2010 7:01:10 PM PDT
by
Clintonfatigued
(Obama's more worried about Israelis building houses than he is about Islamists building atomic bombs)
To: combat_boots
From a previous article these were listed.
Twelve states have applied for waivers from protecting military voters in the 2010 election: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Wisconsin, Colorado, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, and the District of Columbia.
5
posted on
08/26/2010 7:02:01 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
(But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
To: jazusamo
" .. where local officials say they may not be able to comply .. "Who are these "local officials" and why wouldn't they be able to comply ?
6
posted on
08/26/2010 7:03:15 PM PDT
by
knarf
(I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
To: ApplegateRanch
Amen to that, the RATS need time for their shenanigans.
7
posted on
08/26/2010 7:04:22 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
(But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
To: knarf
The Secretary of States are the ones responsible and they’re the ones that file for waivers with the voting rights division of the DOJ.
The final decision on those waivers is made by the DOD at the Pentagon.
8
posted on
08/26/2010 7:07:46 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
(But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
To: KitJ; T Minus Four; xzins; CMS; The Sailor; ab01; txradioguy; Jet Jaguar; Defender2; ...
Active duty/Retiree ping.
9
posted on
08/26/2010 7:10:01 PM PDT
by
Jet Jaguar
(*)
To: jazusamo
I hope we win by enough to overcome the Democrat fraud.
To: jazusamo
Some of this probably is leftists election officials who aren’t in any hurry to get ballots to military they think won’t vote democrat. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it wasn’t also due to too many lazy SOBs abusing the system by requesting absentee ballots simply so they don’t have to get off their butts and go to the polls on election day. This increases the work load of the election officials and makes it more difficult for them to get the ballots to folks who really need them.
11
posted on
08/26/2010 7:30:00 PM PDT
by
GATOR NAVY
("The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -Dennis Prager)
To: jazusamo
Isn’t this the sort of situation where a writ of mandamus should be employed?
12
posted on
08/26/2010 7:32:42 PM PDT
by
Melchior
To: GATOR NAVY
I believe both your points are valid. The sickening thing is these states filing for waivers know they’re depriving some of our military the right to vote and even admit it yet they seem to be unwilling to rectify it.
13
posted on
08/26/2010 7:38:53 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
(But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
To: jazusamo
“not be able to” = don’t want to
Doesn’t bother them in the least to deny the military their voting rights. Also doesn’t bother dems to deny not yet born Americans the right to live. Dems are bastard coated bastards with bastard filling.
14
posted on
08/26/2010 7:41:24 PM PDT
by
TheConservativeParty
(Politicians and diapers should be changed regularly, and for the same reason.)
To: jazusamo
Colorado, Maryland and Wisconsin all have Dems in the SOS office.....in Wisconsin, it’s Bob La Follette, supposedly of a family with fame for “electoral reform.”
15
posted on
08/26/2010 7:43:13 PM PDT
by
cookcounty
("I can see November from my house!" ---Sarah Palin)
To: GATOR NAVY
“lazy SOBs abusing the system by requesting absentee ballots simply so they dont have to get off their butts and go to the polls on election day.”
That comment offends me greatly.
At least in my state. I have the right to get a mail in ballot. For good cause, for bad cause , or for no cause at all. In my case, I am crippled and there is no way I can stand up for more than 2-3 minutes at a time. My wife is healthy but she gets a absentee ballot just because it makes no sense not to.
Now if the state is unable to accommodate this practice, perhaps they can create a job and put someone to work.
To: TheConservativeParty
time to overthrow the b*st*rds in power!
17
posted on
08/26/2010 8:05:58 PM PDT
by
ldish
(Looking forward to Independence Day)
To: All
Election Law Center posted by Christian Adams.
Do blank paper ballots or fax machines exempt states from MOVE Act?
The MOVE Act waivers are due out on Monday next week. Election Law Center has extensively covered the MOVE Act applications.
The Department of Defense must approve or reject the waivers with the advice of the Department of Justice. Two issues lurk through the waiver debates: 1) can states comply by just mailing a blank ballot 45 days in advance to military voters and consider that a ballot? What good is it for a solider to get a blank sheet of paper without the names. Are they supposed to find out who the candidates are once they are certified? But that is exactly what the states of New Hampshire, and perhaps Maryland, are arguing. The Department of Justice in McCain v. Cunningham has already taken the position that sending a blank ballot (aka FWAB ) would not constitute a real ballot. At least the Bush DOJ took that position. 2) Will the DOD and DOJ give too much weight to efforts at mitigation through computers and fax machines? Some inside the government (and this will be covered by writers in the future) have explicitly adopted an 80 percent policy. That is, they are willing to see 20 percent of military voters lose their right to vote as long as those 80 percent are aided by computers to get ballots. This helps the tail, but not the teeth.
The people who may be disenfranchised next Monday by the DOD and DOJ are the front line soldiers like the Navy Seals, 10th Mountain, Marines and others who hear the sounds of bullets whistling by their ears but don't see a computer screen for weeks. They eat MREs, they don't surf the web. The sleep under the stars, they don't have fax machines. But some in Washington may be about to adopt a policy that disenfranchises these heroes while they will approve waivers because someone at Aviano can sip a Taurasi and prints a ballot from email. Leave it to Washington to come up with an 80 percent solution for our bravest servicemembers.
If Washington thinks an FWAB is enough to ignore the MOVE Act then they will have made a joke of the law.
18
posted on
08/26/2010 8:12:26 PM PDT
by
jazusamo
(But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
To: ldish
I can see November from my back 40.
: )
19
posted on
08/26/2010 8:15:12 PM PDT
by
TheConservativeParty
(Politicians and diapers should be changed regularly, and for the same reason.)
To: jazusamo; Clintonfatigued
Every state should be doing whatever is necessary to ensure that the votes of all serving in the Military are counted.
20
posted on
08/26/2010 8:32:25 PM PDT
by
JulieRNR21
(We Will Remember in November 2010.........)
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