GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin, asking a federal judge to extend the deadline for absentee ballots for both military and civilians overseas by five days. The campaign alleges that Wisconsin officials were late in sending out the absentee ballots.
The campaign didn’t stop with Wisconsin though. They also sent letters to election officials in Mississippi and Vermont demanding that the deadline be extended.
The letters sent out on behalf of Romney by former U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi allege that the deadline for sending out the ballots missed the targeted date of September 22.
Federal law requires that absentee ballots e sent out to military and oversea voters by September 22 and returned by November 9.
Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said, “We want to ensure that our fighting men and women overseas have the right to vote in the time that is given under federal law. We’re doing it across the country in both red states and blue state and battleground states.”
The Green Bay Press Gazette reports,
In Wisconsin, 27 municipalities missed the deadline for various reasons to send ballots to a total of 44 military and overseas voters, said Reid Magney, spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board, which handles elections. All 44 ballots were sent to the affected voters within five days of the missed deadline, Magney said.
Hinds County election officials have said the deadline was missed for just 13 voters but they have all since received their ballots electronically.
In the Vermont letter, Principi said 53 municipalities sent ballots late.
The campaign has also copied the Justice Department on its letters claiming that if the DOJ doesn’t bring legal action, the campaign will. I’m guessing the Romney campaign will have to bring the legal action itself as we all know how biased the Obama DOJ is.
