Breitbart’s Mike Flynn reports: President Barack Obama, along with many Democrats, likes to say that, while they may disagree with the GOP on many issues related to national security, they absolutely share their admiration and dedication to members of our armed forces. Obama, in particular, enjoys being seen visiting troops and having photos taken with members of our military. So, why is his campaign and the Democrat party suing to restrict their ability to vote in the upcoming election? On July 17th, the Obama for America Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Ohio Democratic Party filed suit in OH to strike down part of that state's law governing voting by members of the military. Their suit said that part of the law is "arbitrary" with "no discernible rational basis." Currently, Ohio allows the public to vote early in-person up until the Friday before the election. Members of the military are given three extra days to do so. While the Democrats may see this as "arbitrary" and having "no discernible rational basis," I think it is entirely reasonable given the demands on servicemen and women's time and their obligations to their sworn duty. Flynn cites the National Defense Committee which reports: [f]or each of the last three years, the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program has reported to the President and the Congress that the number one reason for military voter disenfranchisement is inadequate time to successfully vote. So here is a law actually trying to provide a little extra time to address the problem cited. Why the resistance from the Obama campaign and Democrats? If the polls are to be believed concerning how the military is likely to vote, it wouldn’t favor Obama or the Democrats. And, of course, Ohio is a swing state. So they want no extra time allowed for the military to vote. Mystery solved. But hey, the military is still useful as props during photo ops and when they help burnish the C-i-C’s rep by killing bad guys like Osama. Voting? Yeah, not so much. UPDATE: From the Marine Corps Times: Fifteen military groups are opposing a federal lawsuit in Ohio brought by President Obama’s campaign because they say it could threaten voter protections afforded to service members, such as the extended time they have to cast a ballot. Some of them are: AMVETS, the National Guard Association of the United States, the Association of the U.S. Army and other organizations asked a judge late Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit. What the Obama campaign is trying to undo: With the changes, most Ohioans now have until the Friday evening before the Tuesday election to cast a ballot in person. But military voters can continue to vote in person until Monday. Say the military orgs: The military groups say federal and state law recognizes that service members need extra time to cast their ballots. They say they fear the precedent that could be set if a court finds that military voters shouldn’t be treated differently than other voters. “Efforts to facilitate and maximize military voting should be welcomed, not viewed with constitutional suspicion,” the groups said in a court filing that seeks to intervene in the case. Agreed. ~McQ Twitter: @McQandO
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Posted
Aug 02 2012, 10:49 PM
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