State waiver for overseas ballots denied

Madison — The U.S. Defense Department has denied Wisconsin's request for a one-time release from a new federal law that requires absentee ballots to be sent to military and other overseas voters 45 days before election day.
Reid Magney, a spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board, said the denial shouldn't lead to a change in the date of football jerseys Wisconsin's Sept. 14 primary elections - a move that would normally require an action of the Legislature and probably would prove a logistical nightmare for local clerks.
"It's too late to do that," Magney said. "It is impossible to move the primary."
State officials, who had expected to have their waiver request approved, still aren't sure what they may have to do to comply with the law. The federal MOVE Act requires absentee ballots to be sent to military and other overseas voters with enough time for them to be filled out and returned.
But there are only 49 days between Wisconsin's Sept. 14 primary, which falls late in the year compared with those of most other states, and the Nov. 2 general election.
That leaves too little time for local clerks to mop up after the primary, handle any possible recounts and send out absentee ballots for the general election, Magney said.
"Because of the time that it takes to count the votes for the primary, to certify the election and to prepare the ballots, generally absentee ballots are available in Wisconsin 30 days before the election," Magney said.
He said the state was in touch with the U.S. Department of Philadelphia Eagles jersey Justice to see what it needs to do to comply with the law.
Of the 6,742 absentee ballots that were returned from voters overseas in the 2008 presidential election, only 246, or less than 4%, were rejected. The reasons for that ranged from the ballots having been received late to them not having a valid witness signature, according to the state's waiver request.
The Pew Center on the States also found in a January 2009 report that Wisconsin provided adequate time for overseas troops to vote.
This month, Wisconsin had applied for a one-time hardship exemption from the MOVE Act, which was passed on Oct. 28, 2009.
But in a letter received Friday by the state, Lynn C. Simpson, director of human capital and resource management at the Department of Defense, found the law had created an undue hardship for Wisconsin but still rejected the state's request.
"The state's proposed comprehensive plan for this election does not provide sufficient time for (military and overseas) voters to vote and have their ballots counted," Simpson wrote.
A request for further comment made to a Department of Defense spokeswoman was not returned.
The state already has some provisions that help military and overseas voters, such as requiring clerks to e-mail or fax absentee ballots to voters abroad so they receive them more quickly.
Another state rule allows 10 days after an election for military voters' ballots to be counted. That provision, however, doesn't apply to civilian voters overseas.
The Legislature this year considered an elections bill that would have helped carry out provisions of the MOVE Act but failed to approve the bill after other more controversial parts of the measure came under fire. But Magney said that passage of Oakland Raiders jersey that bill probably would not have changed the federal decision.
The news prompted the Republicans in the race for governor, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, to call for moving up the date of primaries in future years. The campaign of the major Democrat in the race, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, said he, too, would support changing the date if it would ensure that overseas voters have enough time to receive and return ballots.