[Vision2020] more disenfranchised voters

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McCain campaign sues over overseas military ballots
RICHMOND

John McCain's presidential campaign filed a federal suit Monday
against Virginia seeking to extend by 10 days the deadline for the
state's acceptance of military members' federal absentee ballots.

Word of the suit emerged Monday afternoon, around the time that a
separate election-related injunction request to extend voting hours in
today's election was being rejected in federal court.

A national voter rights group, the Advancement Project, and the state
NAACP chapter sued the state last week claiming unfair election
practices and sought court action to change the distribution of voting
machines in Norfolk, Richmond and Virginia Beach, extend polling hours
and permit wider use of paper ballots.

Judge Richard Williams did not grant the immediate injunction, though
the suit is expected to proceed at a later date. In his ruling,
Williams reasoned that last-minute changes to the election format
could harm the public in the name of protecting voters potentially
disenfranchised by current state election laws.

The McCain suit, meanwhile, seeks an injunction to extend the date by
which federal write-in absentee ballots must be received to be
counted. The current deadline is today, but the suit seeks to have the
date changed to Nov. 14.

"Because many counties in Virginia failed to mail absentee ballots in
time to our men and women in uniform stationed overseas, service
members are being disenfranchised because they are unable to return
their ballots before the November 4 deadline," campaign spokeswoman
Gail Gitcho said in a written statement about the suit, which is
scheduled to be heard in Williams' courtroom at 1:30 p.m. today.

Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach are among the localities cited
in the lawsuit as those that mailed absentee ballots overseas in late
September. The suit argues that service members didn't have enough
time to cast their votes and return them stateside.

Estimates range between federal agencies, but systemic impediments to
overseas voting are seen as a hindrance that keeps service members
stationed abroad from voting with the same success rate as the
domestic population.

This is the second recent flap over federal absentee ballots; an
earlier dispute was resolved last week when state election officials
allowed about 100 ballots to be counted that otherwise would have been
disqualified under state law.

Responding to the suit, Obama campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis said
the Democratic presidential candidate "is strongly committed to
protecting the rights of veterans and active-duty military. That is
why our campaign sent a letter to every secretary of state earlier
this fall urging them to do everything they can to ensure that the
vote of active military and veterans are counted."

In the earlier lawsuit regarding voting equipment and hours, Williams
acknowledged in his ruling that he would like to see Virginia adopt
the early voting rules used by some other states, and also use more
voting machines on Election Day. "Those changes have to come from the
Virginia General Assembly, not the court," he said.

The judge, however, ordered state election officials to publicize the
availability of curbside voting for elderly and disabled citizens and
to remind voters that anyone in line when polls close at 7 p.m. will
be allowed to vote.

After Monday's hearing, NAACP national President Ben Jealous urged
voters to be patient as they wait in Election Day lines.

"We are urging all voters to stay in line tomorrow," Jealous said.
"Americans have waited 230 years for this: a multi-gender,
multi-generational, multi-racial" election.

"This is a big day. Stay in line," he said.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker at pilotonline.com
http://hamptonroads.com/print/486648