From the Washington Times:
“The Justice Department should file suit this week against dozens of states that appear not to be in compliance with a 2009 law to ensure voting rights for military personnel stationed abroad. Failure to file suit will expose the Obama administration’s lack of commitment to military voting.”
The article notes that the National Association of Secretaries of State identified only 11 of 38 states as in compliance with ballot tracking requirements of MOVE. By my math, that means at least 27 states could be immediate defendants in cases brought by the Justice Department only on tracking capabilities, much less all the other provisions states are ignoring. So far, DOJ has filed ZERO lawsuits to enforce MOVE despite having knowledge for a month or more about which states are not in compliance with MOVE. More from the Times:
“Former Justice Department voting rights lawyer J. Christian Adams told The Washington Times that Justice could and should file suit within 24 hours against all noncompliant states, and that there is no reason the department can’t secure temporary injunctions from judges within the week to force compliance. Otherwise, he explained, states can argue – and in previous years have indeed argued – that the lawsuit and injunction are too late to make compliance physically possible. ‘Every day that goes by will strengthen the legal position of those noncompliant states and make it more likely that some military votes will go uncounted,’ Mr. Adams said.
Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Republican who co-authored the 2009 law, agreed yesterday that more must be done. ‘The ball is back in the attorney general’s court,’ he said. ‘Now is the time for DOJ to act, or further disenfranchisement of our troops will certainly result.; Those defending our freedom must not be denied their right to vote.”
If the Justice Department wants Deputy Attorney General nominee James Cole to be confirmed anytime soon, they would be wise to stop having secret discussions with noncompliant states like Wisconsin and start suing them.