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Romney Campaign Sues Wisconsin Over Delay in Military Ballots

State elections officials say only 44 service members did not receive ballots in time, but Romney campaign says even one late ballot is too many.

In Wisconsin, 26 municipalities missed the 45-day federal deadline to transmit absentee ballots to military personnel, and the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is suing the state in order to grant an extension for them to be returned.

All absentee ballots must be returned by Nov. 9, which is three days after the election. But the Romney campaign wants Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections, to push that date back to Nov. 14.

According to the Huffington Post, the Romney campaign first raised its concerns on Oct. 1, but GAB spokesman Reid Magney said the problem was not as serious as the Romney campaign made it seem. Magney pointed out that of the 4,288 military and overseas Wisconsin voters who requested absentee ballots, only 44 were not sent their ballots on time.

However, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan spoke about the issue during his town hall meeting in Waukesha on Monday, arguing that "if a single soldier is denied his or her right to vote, that’s a shame. That’s not what we can stand for in this country."

State Rep. Evan Wynn (R-Whitewater) also weighed in on the issue.

"They're over there fighting for our rights," Wynn, a veteran, told FOX News. "(And for) our right to vote...and they shouldn't be denied theirs because somebody back here didn't get their ballots out in time."

Kevin Kennedy, director of the GAB told FOX News said that there were only 26 of 1,851 municipal clerks who did not get the ballots out in time. He added that "redundancies in the system" allowed all members of the military to receive their ballots in time so they could be counted.

Steve ® October 18, 2012 at 02:07 pm
44 more failures of the liberal GAB
Steve ® October 18, 2012 at 02:22 pm
Why did the GAB tell everyone Oct 17th was the last day to register with no proof of residency?
►Today is the end of open voter registration for 11/6 election when no proof of residence needed ◄ http://tinyurl.com/8gv7nn9
H.E. Pennypacker October 18, 2012 at 02:50 pm
Democrat scumbags.
Randy1949 October 18, 2012 at 03:12 pm
What was the political affiliation of each of those 26 municipal clerks? They can't all have been Democrats.
Randy1949 October 18, 2012 at 03:15 pm
If the Wisconsin election is close enough for 44 votes to make a difference, I personally have no problem extending the deadline. The rest of the country might not agree, especially if Wisconsin ends up tipping the electoral balance either way.
That said, is it a smart move to sue a potential swing state?
Random Blog Commenter October 18, 2012 at 03:58 pm
Which communities failed to provide these ballots? We can't hold those clerks accountable if we don't know who they are.
Steve ® October 18, 2012 at 05:04 pm
How do you judge not needing proof of residency to register to vote?
Greg October 18, 2012 at 05:21 pm
I hope they were not stupid enough to file the suit in Dane County, those judges are already working double overtime for the left.
Beth Norquist October 18, 2012 at 07:34 pm
Why would any woman vote for Romney?
He opposed the equal pay for equal work act (Lily Ledbetter Act) for women. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/oct/16/barack-obama/obama-mitt-romney-refused-say-whether-he-supports-/ Romney favors the Blunt Amendment that would deny contraception coverage for women. http://bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/10/17/president-obama-tries-capitalize-women-issues-after-second-debate-with-mitt-romney/BYFJOuHtDdcaNeGIWVajcN/story.html Romney favors a “personhood” constitutional amendment that would define “life” as beginning at contraception, and could make abortion illegal. When asked to clarify his support, he answered, “Absolutely.” http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/democrats-target-romney-on-reproductive-rights/ He falsely said at the second debate that he sought "binders of women" profiles to find women to hire as governor, but, in reality, he was forced to use binders and pledge to use them. http://hosted2.ap.org/MANOR/4e06196a1f11442a96197ec8174afd24/Article_2012-10-17-Romney-Binders/id-8a8f6924b6e643c9875aa4a319f4e643 Obama took the opposite, pro-women stance on each of these positions. Romney would be COMPLETELY WRONG for women, and our nation!
mau October 18, 2012 at 07:42 pm
If this had happened to just 1 minority or senior citizen, wouldn't the democrats be screaming that they were disenfranchised?
Where is the NAACP fighting for these votes to count. They have been in the Racine Jail fighting for the prisoner's votes to be counted. Are the military members right to vote not as important as a prisoner's right to vote?
Nuitari October 18, 2012 at 09:22 pm
A little late reporting this one. Thank God we'll have Right Wisconsin soon.
Ima Hippee October 18, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Beth - and Obama has binder full of excuses? Actually, I am not aware of any women that have died on his watch but we now have 5 men from fast and furious and Benghazi that have died...So, um, yeah, he has been pretty tough on men.
TOM October 19, 2012 at 01:10 pm
Just another scam to insure that parasites can continue to leech off of the taxpayers! They must provide some type of ID to enroll in these parasite programs they leech off the taxpayers from cradle to the grave on. I blame the polititions that doll it out more than the leeching parasites themselves
Bren October 19, 2012 at 05:16 pm
Extend the deadline and be done with it. Much as I enjoy political posturing...
paul hruz October 19, 2012 at 07:27 pm
First time I agree with Miss Been...or is she just saying this so there is no investagation
DICK STEINBERG October 19, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Yes, this failure to allow military people to vote is wrong. But where are these 26 municipalities and who are the responsible city clerks ? They could be charged with malfeasence in public office. In this story the writer should include that information so the public has all the facts.
Common Sense Conservative October 20, 2012 at 12:57 am
Agreed!! Could you imagine the outcry from the GAB if somehow 44 homeless peoples ballots went missing after the Dems picked them up and gave them cigarettes for their votes?
Tansandy October 20, 2012 at 10:15 am
Remember when all the liberals wanted the head of the Waukesha county clerk for not posting all the vote totals? Now all you hear from them are the sound of crickets chirping!!! Just shows how the left can have selective outrage.
Randy1949 October 20, 2012 at 02:23 pm
Have you not read how Bren and I are in favor of extending the deadline if it makes a difference in the outcome? I'd also like an accounting of who these municipal clerks were and why they failed to meet their deadline.
Alol October 29, 2012 at 01:51 pm
This will all seem like small potatoes after Kathy Nicklaus has another "accident" that mistakenly puts Romney/Ryan/Thompson in the lead on election night. I almost can't wait to see the spectacle unfold. What will her excuse be this time? Will she finally lose her job? How much are the Republicans paying her?
Sarah Millard (Editor) October 29, 2012 at 02:06 pm
Alol, Nickolaus is elected. She has resigned and this will be her last big election to oversee.
The last few elections have gone smoothly at the courthouse.
Stormy Weather October 29, 2012 at 02:28 pm
Beth - Please get your head out of the lefty sandbox. There is no war on women by Governor Romney. He has done far more to help people then President Obama ever did. The truth is, that President Obama's policies have failed. He is destroying our country, and we the people need to pull together and get this ship pointed in the right direction.
And btw... How do you feel about President Obama's incompetence regarding the deaths in Benghazi of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty? Either the President screwed up really bad or his administration did, and now they are trying to hide their incompetence!
Kenneth London October 29, 2012 at 02:43 pm
The death of Ambassador Stevens was a terrible incident and President Obama clearly stated in the second debate that he takes responsibility for what happened. That is what a "leader" does. Someone who is not fit to lead uses such incidents to score political points at a time when we should be united in bringing those responsible to justice. While Congressman Ryan had proposed that we spend LESS on security at US Embassies he then had the guts to blame that very lack of security on the Obama administration. It is annoying when facts get in the way of people's hate-filled rants. As for women and whether they will be better off or not under Romney - it is simple pandering by both sides. It simply comes down to how one views the impact of the Affordable Health Care Act, funding for Planned Parenthood (which provides health screenings for poor women), the Lilly Ledbetter Act (which changes the standard and process a woman has to sue and employer for equal pay rights), and how the Supreme Court may rule on issues such as Title IX and abortion rights. No - it is not quite a "war" on women, but I think there are many issues that will impact women that should be discussed in this election.
Again - the "dumbed down" arguments of the extremists (on both sides) get in the way of facts, logic, and actual intelligent discussion of the issues. Too bad.
Kenneth London October 29, 2012 at 02:50 pm
As for the military ballots - ho hum ... extend the deadline. To turn this into a big boohoo look how liberal the GAB is - is just another smoke screen like Republican cries about ACORN or Democratic cries about Strategic Allied Consultants. If one really wanted to "research" how members of the military vote - in the last presidential election Obama did quite well actually. McCain won the military vote 55%-45%. Also - there tends not to be a "military" bloc recognizable in recent elections. Bill Clinton, a so-called "draft dodger", won the military vote over George Bush I, a military hero in 1992. So let's stop screaming that this is driven by politics when you cannot even ascertain if either party has an advantage by the ruling.
Steve ® October 29, 2012 at 02:53 pm
A leader, when informed more security is needed makes the correct decision to protect our citizens. Pandering responsibility for your failed action does not define a good leader.
Stormy Weather October 29, 2012 at 03:32 pm
Kenneth - President Obama doesn't accept responsibility for anything except that he killed Osama bin Laden. The truth about Benghazi will eventually come out, and it will be the undoing of the Democratic Party... To quote Charles Woods, who is the father American Hero,Tyrone Woods.
“When [Obama] came over to our little area” at Andrew Air Force Base, says Woods, “he kind of just mumbled, you know, ‘I’m sorry.’ His face was looking at me, but his eyes were looking over my shoulder like he could not look me in the eye. And it was not a sincere, ‘I’m really sorry, you know, that you’re son died,’ but it was totally insincere, more of whining type, ‘I’m sorry.’” Woods says that shaking President Obama’s hands at his son’s memorial service was “like shaking hands with a dead fish.” “It just didn’t feel right,” he says of his encounter with the commander in chief. “And now that it’s coming out that apparently the White House situation room was watching our people die in real time, as this was happening,” Woods says, he wants answers on what happened—and why there was no apparent effort to save his son’s life." Yes, Mr. Woods... As an American Citizen and a father you have the right to ask for answers as to why President Obama and his administration turned their backs on your son who is an American Hero!
Mike Shortall October 29, 2012 at 03:33 pm
Well, here's a reason why women SHOULD NOT vote for President Obama. He pays lip service to women playing a substantial role in everyday decision making (excluding Hillary and Valerie Jarrett).
http://swampland.time.com/2011/09/21/the-white-house-boys-club-president-obama-has-a-woman-problem/ And a reason why women SHOULD vote for Mitt Romney. The women who have worked for and with him know he respects their value! http://www.blogher.com/what-women-should-know-about-our-old-boss-mitt-romney

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