March 2010

Dear Friend of the Military Voter,

Law Review 1013 (Mar. 2010) is about military and overseas absentee voting and recent (Oct. 2009) amendments to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), a federal statute enacted in 1986.  The amendments go into effect at the time of the Nov. 2010 general election.  Every state, and every local election official, must now (as a matter of federal law) mail absentee ballots 45 days before Election Day, to military and overseas voters who apply that early.  If any state fails to make that deadline, in some or all local jurisdictions, the state must apply for a waiver from the Secretary of Defense.  To obtain the waiver, the state must demonstrate both that an "undue hardship" prevented the state from mailing the ballots 45 days before Election Day and that the state has implemented an alternative plan that gives military and overseas citizens a reasonable opportunity to cast ballots that really get counted.

I am concerned that some local election officials will try to circumvent federal law by hiding the fact that they do not have ballots printed and ready to mail 45 days before Election Day.  There are more than 7,800 local election offices nationwide, and it is difficult to monitor their performance from here in Washington.  Please contact your local election official--County Clerk, County Auditor, County Election Board, Town Clerk, etc.  The titles vary, but you can figure it out.  Your local election official needs to know that someone in your community is interested in ensuring that absentee ballots are printed and mailed sufficiently early so that overseas military personnel can mark and return them in time to be counted.  In most states, the local election official is an elected official and will be interested in your input.

Law Review 1014 (March 2010) is about a successful lawsuit instituted by the United States Attorney General against the State of Alabama, to force the State to comply with its obligations (as an employer) under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).  Law Review 0917 (Apr. 2009) is about a United States Supreme Court case requiring the State of Colorado and the City of Denver to comply with the requirements of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act (now known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act or SCRA).

Whether we are talking about UOCAVA, USERRA, or the SCRA, federal law trumps conflicting state law, and the Federal Government will come down hard on states that try to flout the rights of the brave young men and women who serve in our nation's armed forces.

We also need your financial assistance for the Servicemembers’ Law Center and its Military Voting Rights Project.  You can make a contribution by credit or debit card by clicking the Support button below.  Or just mail a check to ROA at 1 Constitution Ave. NE  Washington, DC  20002.  Please make the check payable to “ROA” and mark it for “Servicemembers’ Law Center.”

Very respectfully,

Samuel F. Wright
Captain, JAGC, USN (Ret.) 
Director, Servicemembers Law Center,
Military Voting Rights Project
1 Constitution Ave. NE
Washington, DC  20002
(202) 646-7730
(800) 809-9448, ext. 730
(202) 646-7767 (fax)
SWright@roa.org