MacIver News Service | October 29, 2012

As the MacIver News Service (MNS) first reported on October 1st, a number of overseas military personnel were in danger of not being able to cast their vote in the upcoming November election because of a glitch in absentee ballot distribution, effectively disenfranchising our service men and women.

The work of MNS reached Washington, and House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren (R-California) acted, sending a staff attorney to meet with state election officials. Moreover, the Department of Defense alerted every Wisconsin service member to the error.

As a result of the MNS report–and following a law suit filed by the Romney for President Committee–the state Government Accountability Board (GAB) has issued an order extending the federally mandated 45-day return window in four municipalities that distributed ballots too late to meet the month and a half window.

In addition to extending the deadline by as many as nine days in one municipality, the GAB has ordered municipal and county clerks to ensure that all overseas military ballots returned on time are counted and reported to the state.