A Maryland court rules that a soldier who does not receive his ballot on time has had his constitutional rights violated, and can sue without waiting for the Department of Justice to act.
Congratulations to the Military Voter Protection Project — they have broken new legal ground in protecting military voters.
A Maryland Federal Court ruled today that it is a violation of a soldier’s constitutional rights to not receive his complete ballot on time (emphasis--mine). The court ruled that the John Doe officer stationed in Iraq had standing to sue based on deprivations of their constitutional rights.
This is an enormously important decision which will affect the 2012 elections.
This means that military members need not wait on the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. at the Justice Department to sue. It may end the monopoly on DOJ’s oversight of military voting, which is a good thing for everyone in uniform. It means that in 2012, during the presidential election, we won’t have to wait for DOJ to act. It means that the Eric Holder military voting disaster of 2010 might not happen again.
Individual soldiers and sailors may have recourse to the courts, able to act immediately as they are trained to do in combat zones.
This ruling also shows that private citizens are more effective than their government. DOJ filed no lawsuit in Maryland, but MVP did, and MVP won a victory for military voters from every state.
A Maryland Federal Court ruled today that it is a violation of a soldier’s constitutional rights to not receive his complete ballot on time (emphasis--mine). The court ruled that the John Doe officer stationed in Iraq had standing to sue based on deprivations of their constitutional rights.
This is an enormously important decision which will affect the 2012 elections.
This means that military members need not wait on the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. at the Justice Department to sue. It may end the monopoly on DOJ’s oversight of military voting, which is a good thing for everyone in uniform. It means that in 2012, during the presidential election, we won’t have to wait for DOJ to act. It means that the Eric Holder military voting disaster of 2010 might not happen again.
Individual soldiers and sailors may have recourse to the courts, able to act immediately as they are trained to do in combat zones.
This ruling also shows that private citizens are more effective than their government. DOJ filed no lawsuit in Maryland, but MVP did, and MVP won a victory for military voters from every state.
