Monday, January 10, 2005

Another Casualty of Iraq War: WA Absentee Ballots

"As far as I know, I would be willing to bet a large amount of money that 95% of the people in my platoon, company and battalion did not receive a ballot," Marine Cpl. Ted Lester of Snohomish County e-mailed from Fallujah. "The other 5% did, but they received them burned beyond recognition and about 4-5 weeks too late." Lester said that the mail system in Iraq "is a joke" under the best circumstances, that one mail truck was blown up a week before the election and that it was difficult to get information about where to send write-in ballots."-from today's Seattle Times story, "Feds threatened suit over military ballots." The Olympian reports, "Rossi's fight could enter federal realm--Lawyer cites equal protection elements of Bush-Gore case." It's always heartening to see Republicans asking the federal government to protect their civil rights, when they fear they may be denied at the state level. Update: "Republicans, left with minorities in both chambers, may have heartfelt concerns about the validity of Democrat Christine Gregoire's electoral victory but should be careful to confine their activities to perfecting the polling process, and not political gamesmanship. Undermining the governor's credibility will serve only to undermine credibility in government in general, including the Legislature."-from an editorial Monday in the P-I, "Democrats must lead."

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