Monday is the deadline for Pentagon decisions on the 12 jurisdictions seeking to escape the new protections for military voters.  The federal law mandates all ballots be sent 45 days in advance of the election.  These states failed to fix their laws and instead are asking to avoid new protections.  It is this simple: the grant of a waiver means that some servicemembers will not have their votes count.  No electronic internet remedy can help the teeth, even though it might help the tail.  There is still time for citizens to exercise their First Amendment right of petition and let the bureaucrats in charge of the decision know you don’t want any waivers granted.  The states are:

Massachusetts
Rhode Island
New York
Delaware
Maryland
D.C.
Wisconsin
Colorado
Alaska
Hawaii
Washington
Virgin Islands

The final few paragraphs of my latest Pajamas Media article tells you how you can petition for denials of waiver requests.  You can also demand that all guidance from DOJ and the waiver requests be made public:

“Maryland found time for designating September 15 through October 15 as ‘Hispanic Heritage Month,’ a ban on driving with cell phones, mandatory solar energy purchases for state utilities, a law to decrease how far away from shore people can hunt ducks … and saddest of all, a law allowing 16-year-olds to register to vote. Obviously Maryland has other priorities besides men and women serving overseas.

In the meantime, the public, particularly military families and veterans groups, have a right to petition their government and voice their opinion about the waivers. Citizens can reach FVAP and tell them to deny all waiver requests at 800-438-8683 or vote@fvap.gov. Citizens can petition the DOJ and tell them both to recommend against granting the waivers and to sue states who submitted them at (202) 307-2767 or rebecca.j.wertz@usdoj.gov.

Citizens have this right in a free and democratic government. Whether or not Washington cares enough to listen remains to be seen.”