Virginia's late overseas military ballots broke the law, court rules

A federal judge ruled this week that the Virginia State Board of Elections violated federal law by allowing absentee ballots to be mailed to overseas military members too late for them to return them in time for their votes to count, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams said he would not fashion a remedy himself but leave it to the U.S. Department of Justice and the State Board of Elections to come up with a plan that would prevent such mishaps in future elections.

"The situation cries out for a solution," Williams told lawyers for the state board and the Department of Justice. Both are better suited than he to craft a solution, he added.

The ballots were mailed by local elections officials who report to the State Board. Named in the suit were Arlington, Chesterfield, Fauquier and Loudoun counties and the cities of Chesapeake, Richmond, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. The ruling does not require a recount, since it was determined that the 4,750 ballots at issue would not affect the outcome of any races.

The McCain-Palin campaign filed a lawsuit over the late absentee military ballots the day before the Nov. 4 election. However, the judge removed the campaign from the action after the election, saying it no longer had standing to sue. It allowed DOJ to intervene in the campaign's place.

Justice Department lawyers wanted the court to order that the ballots be counted and to issue an order requiring timely mailings in the future.