Congressman John Hall Fighting for Voting Rights of New York’s Soldiers
By Michael Boyajian
Congressman John Hall reports that military personnel from four New York counties and New York City have yet to receive their absentee ballot packages. Congressman Hall rose to action on the news demanding that the State Board of Elections mail them out immediately.
The state board notified authorities that the ballots had yet to mail out last week and as of October 9 still hadn’t mailed even after an extension was granted. The four counties are Westchester, Putnam, Erie and Niagara.
Congressman Hall stated that, “Once again our service men and women are not being treated with the respect that they deserve. The Constitution guarantees all Americans the right to vote and local bureaucrats dragging their feet to mail the ballots out was unacceptable and unlawful.”
Soldiers defending this nation overseas should not be denied their right to vote. Rep. Hall called for expedited mailing of the ballots to those “putting their lives in harm’s way for our democracy.” Those serving in front line combat positions may not have enough time now to get their ballots back to be counted. This is not just a case of negligence on the part of the board but a violation of their sacred duty to provide our soldiers with voting tools as they risk all to defend all of us.
The MOVE Act of 2009 requires that military ballots mail out 45 days prior to an election. New York’s service personnel will have just three weeks to get their ballots back. No easy task considering the inherent delays in the military mail servicing those in forward lines of battle.
Congressman Hall says that “this matter cannot be taken lightly and it puts the fundamentals of our democracy at risk,” fundamentals that our soldiers are fighting hard to protect as they stand strong in the line of fire.
End