DOJ asked to intervene over voter deadlines in Hawaii, other states
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
A queue of voters waited to register for the Hawaii Republican Party presidential caucus at Kaiser High School on March 8.
Two Democratic senators today asked the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that Hawaii and nine other states do not violate federal law with their mail-in voter registration deadlines for the November election.
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Patrick Leahy of Vermont said they were concerned that thousands of people could be disenfranchised under plans that would block applications as many as three days earlier than other states.
A department spokesman said officials would review the request as soon as it’s received.
The senators said deadlines in 10 states violate the National Voting Rights Act, which calls for mail-in voter registration applications to be accepted if they are postmarked 30 days before the election. That falls on a Sunday this year. The next day happens to be Columbus Day, when there will be no postal service.
Other states have adjusted their deadlines to account for the long holiday weekend, accepting applications postmarked by Tuesday, Oct. 11.
The 10 states cited in the senators’ letter are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. Officials in Utah have said they already changed the deadline, while officials in Washington and Arkansas have said they also will accept applications postmarked on Oct. 11.
Officials in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii and Rhode Island have said the mail-in deadline would not be changed.
“We’re confident that we’re following the law that the Legislature wrote, and that’s not disenfranchising anyone,” said Matt Roberts, spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan.
Last week, the senators sent a similar letter to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
11 responses to “DOJ asked to intervene over voter deadlines in Hawaii, other states”
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Hurricane Matthew is about to hit several early voting states which no doubt will have a significant negative impact on early voting turnout for many days. After the storm passes, Democrats, of course, will claim the storm disenfranchised many voters and they may even blame Republicans and global warming deniers for it. Don’t be surprised if Democrat politicians like U.S. Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Patrick Leahy of Vermont demand that Election Day be extended for several days past November 8th.
They want to make sure that all the deceased democrats get to cast their ballots.
The Dem deceased will be floating up to vote for sure.
What is the big deal Office of Elections? Extend the date. Our voter turnout is already at a low point. Maybe a few more voters would be encouraged with a time extension. Just do it!
The federal Election Day is established by Congress and can be extended by Congress only.
doj is too busy registering residents to vote in the other 56 states while california wants to extend obamacare to illegal aliens.
I don’t trust the Department of Corruption.
Just let the FBI investigate and find that there was no intent. Case closed.
Three more days to load the buses with low information democrats using a pack of cigarettes or 5 bucks as incentive to vote for Waldo.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include the illegals.
True dat. California registers illegals when they get their driver licenses.