BREAKING: DOJ Undermines Pentagon, Allows Wisconsin To Ignore Military Voting Protections

Pajamas Media ^ | September 10, 2010 | J. Christian Adams

[jazusamo]

This is a disgrace, plain and simple. Military voters, their families, and veterans organizations should be outraged at the Holder DOJ.

It is 2008 all over again. Today the Department of Justice effectively rewrote the 2009 MOVE Act designed to protect military voters. In a settlement reached with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, the Holder Justice Department allowed Wisconsin to mail ballots to overseas military voters only 32 days before the election, instead of the statutorily mandated 45 days.

Once again, it is no accident this embarrassing settlement is being released on a Friday, so fewer might notice.

The Pentagon had denied Wisconsin’s application for a waiver from the 45-day requirement: “The states granted waivers presented thorough and comprehensive plans to protect the voting opportunities for military and overseas voters,” Bob Carey, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, said in a statement. Wisconsin’s waiver application didn’t even come close to compliance with the MOVE Act. They wanted to send ballots only 29 days before the election. The folks at the Pentagon rightfully denied the waiver request.

The victory for military voters was short-lived.

Instead of aggressively suing Wisconsin immediately after the waiver denial, the DOJ engaged in secret negotiations. An immediate lawsuit would have strengthened the negotiating position of the DOJ as well as preserved various equitable legal arguments, including the argument DOJ waited too long to commence litigation. Instead of doing the right thing, the DOJ did the easy thing and reached a settlement with Wisconsin that undermined the Pentagon’s denial of Wisconsin’s waiver request.

The tough negotiating stance of the Holder DOJ extracted a whopping additional three days out of Wisconsin. Ballots will mail 32 days before the election instead of 29. A consent decree filed Friday will reflect this quisling agreement.

This is a disgrace, plain and simple. Military voters, their families and veterans organizations should be outraged at the Holder DOJ.

It is true that time was added to allow ballots to roll in after the election, but time after the election is different in quality than time before. The MOVE Act was explicitly designed to add time before an election to ensure the solider would get a ballot in time to benefit from the express delivery requirement under the MOVE Act. This guarantees that ballots placed in military mail at least 7 days before an election will be returned in time to be counted. By sending ballots only 32 days before the election, many overseas soldiers will be denied this important guarantee. Congress specifically rejected post-election add-on time as a solution. Compressing the pre-election time ignores both of these important statutory purposes.

The limp DOJ settlement demonstrates a core fear inside Justice of litigating military voting cases. Even when the DOJ actually acts to protect military voters, the investigative methods resemble the Keystone Cops.

After the administration changes, an increasing possibility in 2013, it will be essential to clean house and install litigators who don’t flinch under fire, both in the courtroom and also on the battlefield. It’s time to put someone in charge of protecting military voters who cares about military voters, preferably with military experience.

Senator John Cornyn has put the heat on Justice, and blocked the nomination of James Cole to be Deputy Attorney General. Justice was desperate to have Cole confirmed weeks ago, and the military voting mess has aggravated top DOJ leadership. Americans rightfully outraged by the DOJ concession should send notes of support to Senator Cornyn for his efforts to protect military voters. The shameful Wisconsin settlement will likely strengthen Cornyn’s resolve on the Cole hold.

Could Wisconsin have done something differently? Lots.

Wisconsin could have done what Florida, Georgia or Vermont did, and fix the problem in the nearly twelve months since the MOVE Act was passed. It’s a question of priorities. Wisconsin could have just gotten the job done like other waiver-requesting states did when their waivers were rejected. The primaries in Wisconsin are on September 14, but the DOJ settlement won’t require ballots to be printed and mailed until October 2.

This is what happens when government bureaucrats negotiate with other government bureaucrats. They are completely oblivious to the private sector solutions to the problem, such as printing technology, and instead allow a tedious 18 days to go by before ballots are mailed.

This settlement shows a slavish devotion to plodding process, to doing things without any sense of urgency. It contrasts starkly with the methods and mindset of our men and women serving in combat zones.

Could DOJ have done something differently? Absolutely. DOJ could have sued Wisconsin in June once it was clear the State would not comply with MOVE. If the DOJ took the timid approach and didn’t sue because it thought a waiver might be sought, they could have sued immediately upon the denial of the waiver application. They didn’t. Justice could have then filed a motion for a temporary injunction seeking an order to force Wisconsin to print ballots and mail them a few days after the conclusion of the September 14 primary. Similarly, Justice should have used the pending motion to leverage a better settlement.

But all that requires swift efficient work, speed, resolute decision making, and the courage to enter a courtroom — traits in short supply in military voting enforcement at the DOJ.

DOJ also could have had the courtesy to respond to the draft Pentagon waiver guidance that was sent in the spring. DOJ could have reviewed the draft and provided a written response. Because it failed to do so, no final waiver guidance was ever given to the states. This alone calls for consequences.

Simply put, the DOJ allowed Wisconsin to do less than the law allowed. Like Julie Fernandes rewriting the Motor Voter law, bureaucrats nullified important protections for military voters in the Wisconsin settlement.

Compare this timorous approach to what just happened to Cuyahoga County, Ohio. About 6,000 Americans who grew up in Puerto Rico live there. DOJ threatened to sue the county unless Spanish ballots were used across the whole county. The problem is that the need for Spanish ballots doesn’t exist across the whole county. And the law doesn’t even allow a county-wide remedy.

No matter. When it comes to Spanish ballots, the DOJ demanded a remedy that went beyond the law. When it comes to our military voters, the DOJ negotiated a remedy that was less than the law requires.

Expect more of the same regarding Hawaii and the District of Columbia, two more states grossly out of compliance with the MOVE Act.

It’s really just a question of priorities, of favored political constituencies. It’s a dangerous game of politicization to play considering the mood of the country. It is one more incident that grows the coming wave.

J. Christian Adams is an election lawyer who served in the Voting Rights Section at the U.S. Department of Justice. His website is www.electionlawcenter.com.

[Diogenesis]

“There may be a vote by a cracker ... or even a Jew. We cannot allow that.”

[jazusamo]

Bump!

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

They know that most military personnel will vote for honest, good candidates who love the USA. That leaves the democrats out.

[Ev Reeman]

Clearly against the law.

Sue the bastards.

Take em to court.

[IYAS9YAS]

I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’ beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:
O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ‘adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-’alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.
Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul?”
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.

We aren’t no thin red ‘eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;
While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind”,
But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind.

You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!

[jakerobins]

Not a surprise coming from a DOJ run by Holder....This is just setting up the Election Fraud coming down in November and 2012 to keep the Democrats and Obama in Power.......

Just wait and see the massive fraud and the DOJ not investigating many irregularities...

[chris37]

Stinking mongrel dogs.

[Cheerio]

We all knew the RATS would cheat this year just like they do every election. This is just the START. How much of it will be reported by the state run lame stream media remains to be seen.

[txhurl]

Isn’t there a way people stationed overseas can have their ballots mailed to their parents In Care Of? Their parents can get the ballots to them quicker and ‘safer’.

[Dick Bachert]

Not that Bush was all that much better when it came to the Saudis, but do you suppose the Muslims and Obozo's handlers feel a need to keep Obozo in office and most of our military folks might vote the "wrong way?"

"I summon my blue-eyed slaves anytime it pleases me. I command the Americans to send me their bravest soldiers to die for me. Anytime I clap my hands a stupid genie called the American ambassador appears to do my bidding. When the Americans die in my service their bodies are frozen in metal boxes by the US Embassy and American airplanes carry them away, as if they never existed. Truly, America is my favorite slave."

King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz, Jeddeh 1993

("At Any Price: How America Betrayed My Kidnapped Daughters for Saudi Oil" By Patricia Roush)

For the source of that quotation, visit the link below (copy and paste if necessary), go to page 272 and scroll to the bottom of the page.

http://tinyurl.com/28sn557

I guess their oil is the only POSSIBLE reason to shed American blood for these people. It begs a question: WHY THE HELL AREN’T WE USING OUR OWN?? ARE WE MAD? (Don’t answer that.)

[concerned about politics]

Clinton mailed the ballots out late, too, for his reelection campaign. He called it a clerical error. After the election was over, ballots were still in bags being delivered to the Navy.
The military is overwhelmingly right wing. If there's anything they can to to deny them their vote, they will. In the 2000 election, the military votes in Florida were thrown out. They said they were improperly filled out and or late.
The democrats say every vote counts -- unless it's a vote for the other party. They claim they want democracy -- but only if the people use it to vote for them.

[okie01]

They know that most military personnel will vote for honest, good candidates who love the USA. That leaves the democrats out.

Recall all the shenanigans in 2000 that were aimed at diminishing the military vote.

1. The Clinton administration would not sanction voting precincts on military property. You had to leave the base to vote.

2. Recognizing that Florida would be a battleground state, approximately 800 reserves in the state were called up a.) after the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot but b.) before election day. These reserves were shipped off to other states on make-work assignments.

3. Once the re-count began, the Democrats had lawyers in every county seat reviewing the ballots. They targeted military ballots for disqualification and successfully challenged many on what were totally specious grounds. Florida was actually under a federal consent order to honor military ballots without postmarks (as is the case with many overseas ballots). The County Clerks didn't necessarily know this. The Democrat attorneys knew better, but got the ballots disqualified anyway.

The left has worked tirelessly to guarantee convicted felons and prisoners the vote. And, at the same time, they have worked tirelessly to deny the military their vote.

There is a word for this kind of activity: Despicable.

[Ev Reeman]

Dems besides being anti Christian, anti Israel, anti white, anti business, anti religion, anti God, anti capitalism is also anti military.

[caseinpoint]

I don’t quite understand what would have happened had the waiver not been granted? Would Wisconsin have been prohibited from sending ballots to the servicemen? I understand the need for the 45-day deadline but what was the alternative to the waiver? A state sued by DOJ and servicemen denied their right to vote while the suit was pending? Does the process really require 45 days in these days of electronic voting?

[jazusamo]

No it’s no surprise. Holder and his appointed thugs broken, ignored or excused laws from the onset of the regime.

[txhurl]

If you’re a serviceman, how would you get your ballot mailed somewhere stateside, if you tell the clerk you’ll be on leave between Sept 20 and Nov 8?

[the_Watchman]

Holder is busy. The DOJ is using its resources to sue us in Arizona over SB1070.

[Old Grumpy]

And Hussein complains that he is being treated like a dog. Look at his cabinet and the fact he won’t rein them in, to see why his popularity is bottoming out. This is discrimination against the military, plain and simple. Holder is a real piece of work.

[jazusamo]

The state is responsible for getting the ballots to overseas military in time for them to vote and get the ballot back to be counted, the MOVE Act stipulated 45 days.

The problem is deployed troops in inaccessible areas for the most part as I understand it and they vote by paper ballot, not electronically.