LEGISLATIVE ALERT: MILITARY VOTING RIGHTS

            Two weeks ago I posted an article on my blog concerning the attacks by the left on our right to vote. One of the things I mentioned was the attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to limit the voting rights of our brave men and women serving overseas in the military. I pointed out that historically, members of the military and their families have voted overwhelmingly for conservative political candidates who support the values that the troops are fighting for.

This has always been an irritant to the left so there have been increasing efforts by the progressives in some states to derive ways to keep absentee votes from the military from being counted. These tactics have primarily involved waiting so late to send out the ballots to the troops that it would be virtually impossible for them to return them by the election deadline.

            In October of 2009 President Obama signed into law the MOVE Act, a bill introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R. TX) that required the Secretaries of State in each state to mail out absentee ballots to military personnel no later than 45 days prior to the election. This could only be avoided by the Secretary of State getting a waiver because of something unforeseen happening that would prevent the ballots from going out on time.

            However, now it has been learned that at a recent meeting between DOJ officials and the Secretaries of State of various state governments, the DOJ told them not to worry about complying with the law. They were told that the Department of Justice had no intention of enforcing it.

            Now, the deadline is growing near for many of the members of the military to be able to vote in the upcoming election. According to the Washington Times, “at least 11 states (Hawaii, New York, Delaware, Alaska, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Colorado) and the District of Columbia have not implemented the 45-day deadline for mailing absentee ballots. At least five states (Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri and New Hampshire) have not implemented the electronic-delivery requirement under the MOVE Act.” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/12/justice-delayed-for-military-voters/

            You will notice that most of these are so-called Blue States, yet in many of them such as Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, Connecticut, and Washington there are very close Senate races that could possibly be decided by absentee ballots from members of the military and their families.

            If you live in any of the states listed above that are not complying with the law there are several things you can do. The first is to contact your Secretary of State’s office and demand that they comply with the law so that troops from your state will have their votes counted. Second, contact your local state representative and senator and ask them to do what they can to force the Secretary of State to obey the law. Last, you can let your friends and neighbors know about what is happening so they can take action.

            Even if you live in a state that is not on the list, you may still want to touch base with the Secretary of State to make sure that they are not waiting until the last minute to request a waiver. Get their assurance that the requirements of the MOVE Act will be met and get members of the State Legislature to monitor compliance.

            We can’t let the members of the military be denied one of the rights they are fighting and dying to protect for all of us.

Michael Connelly

http://michaelconnelly.viviti.com/

mrobertc@hotmail.com