The lawsuits begin
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The lawsuits begin
| Tue, 11-04-2008 - 9:14pm |
And the Lawsuits Begin...
John McCain's campaign has filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Board of Elections, asking that the absentee ballots of overseas military personnel be counted - even if they don't arrive here in the U.S. until after the Nov. 4 deadline.
CNN is reporting this evening the McCain campaign wants Virginia - a state that the Republican candidate has to win - to accept absentee ballots up until Nov. 14. State election rules say these ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
I called the Virginia Elections Board at 6 p.m. ET tonight, and they said they haven't actually been served with the lawsuit so they can't comment on it yet.
McCain claims the rights of military voters are protected by the federal Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Rights Act of 1986. The complaint says that Virginia military voters posted overseas who support McCain will be denied their right to vote unless the court grants the order. It alleges that ballots for overseas military voters were mailed too late to ensure they are returned by the deadline.
McCan attorney Ashley Taylor Jr. told the AP said tens of thousands such ballots could be voided if the deadline isn't extended. "The last thing you want is to have a service member in Afghanistan or Iraq who received his ballot too late not being able to vote in this election," Taylor said.
A hearing on McCain's lawsuit is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams, who today declined to order longer voting hours and other changes requested by the NAACP.
CNN is reporting this evening the McCain campaign wants Virginia - a state that the Republican candidate has to win - to accept absentee ballots up until Nov. 14. State election rules say these ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
I called the Virginia Elections Board at 6 p.m. ET tonight, and they said they haven't actually been served with the lawsuit so they can't comment on it yet.
McCain claims the rights of military voters are protected by the federal Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Rights Act of 1986. The complaint says that Virginia military voters posted overseas who support McCain will be denied their right to vote unless the court grants the order. It alleges that ballots for overseas military voters were mailed too late to ensure they are returned by the deadline.
McCan attorney Ashley Taylor Jr. told the AP said tens of thousands such ballots could be voided if the deadline isn't extended. "The last thing you want is to have a service member in Afghanistan or Iraq who received his ballot too late not being able to vote in this election," Taylor said.
A hearing on McCain's lawsuit is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams, who today declined to order longer voting hours and other changes requested by the NAACP.

<<So what do you think about this? I definitely think that these ballots should be counted but I'm not quite sure that it would have as much as an impact as McCain would hope. >>
i agree. i think it would be a slap in the face to not count the votes of the military
i don't think they should be counted.
I both agree and disagree with your statements. :-) Yes it is the job of the governement to ensure that ballots get to and from the military on time which is precisely why I think it's only fair that those votes get counted. How would you feel if your vote wasn't counted b/c of a government screw-up? That being said, I agree with you that they may not be needed depending on who wins Virginia and by what margin.
Chrissy
mom to Aidan 8/21/03
Grayson Blaine 12/30/07