A Plain Dealer article describing criticism of DOJ for waiting until just before an election to threaten a lawsuit for Spanish language ballots even though the facts had existed for years. 

“All four Board of Elections members have expressed concerns about the timing of the Justice Department actions.   Board member Sandy McNair said if the feds had told the county earlier that it was in violation, the board could have acted sooner. “

Look for the same mess to happen with military voting cases, if they even bring any.  The DOJ waited and waited and waited on action against Cuyahoga.  They are doing the same with military voting.

In both instances, the delays harm their case.  Defendants can raise equitable defenses that delay cuts against the DOJ.

The Department’s rebuttal is thin: we told you 2 years ago about this provision of the law.  That’s hardly responsive to the claims of delay because those were broad discussions of the law, not a specific threat to sue.  And they went to many states.  There is a common denominator here that we will let Election Law Center readers figure out.  Two words, sounds like…