Oct 16, 2012 No Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from The Daily Caller: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign has filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin to extend the amount of time military and overseas absentee ballots can be returned.
The federal suit came on the heels a campaign request to the state’s Government Accountability Board to extend the deadline after at least 30 Wisconsin municipalities failed to send overseas ballots 45 days before the election, which is required under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (UOCAVA). The campaign proceeded with the suit against GAB after their initial request was denied.
“Because members of the military are often stationed in remote, dangerous, frontline locations, there is a substantial likelihood that the defendants’ violations of law will prevent military voters from receiving, completing, and returning their ballots in time to have them counted,” the lawsuit filed Friday reads. “The defendants’ unlawful conduct therefore may effectively disenfranchise the very men and women who make daily sacrifices to protect our system of democratic government.”
The campaign is requesting that the court grant at least five additional days, beyond the Nov. 9 deadline, for those ballots to be returned. The suit is part of a larger push on the part of the Romney campaign to ensure that all military ballots are counted.
Romney spokesman Ryan Williams told The Daily Caller that the campaign is monitoring the military ballot process across the country, not just in swing states. The campaign has also sent letters regarding potential UOCAVA violations to officials in Mississippi, Michigan, New Jersey, Alabama, and Vermont.
“Governor Romney believes that our fighting men and women overseas deserve the full voting period that is required under federal law,” Williams said. “It is unacceptable for government bureaucrats to drop the ball and deny them what is required by law.”
The Department of Justice filed suit against Vermont last week for failing to send out ballots on time.
Williams said that Wisconsin has been a “serial offender” when it comes to ensuring overseas personnel receive their ballots on time, noting that this is the third time in two years that the state has had issues with military ballots.
