New York state fails to send absentee ballots to overseas military

The Board of Elections is facing another "royal screwup" - this time for failing to ship absentee ballots to New York troops serving overseas.

"Our troops sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms. They should never, ever be denied the right to vote," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, who pushed a 2009 law establishing deadlines for mailing absentee ballots.

New York election officials were required to ship the ballots to U.S. citizens living overseas by Sept. 17. Because New York primaries were held Sept. 14, the feds granted local officials an extension until Oct. 1.

Several New York counties blew past the extension - including the city's five boroughs.

Schumer urged election officials to rush delivery of the ballots to ensure that military votes are counted.

"Put these ballots on the next plane to Afghanistan," Schumer demanded. "There is absolutely no excuse for failing to get this done."

New York State Board of Elections officials informed the feds late last week of their failure to meet the Oct. 1 deadline, which also occurred in Westchester, Putnam, Erie and Niagara counties.

In all, there are 49,468 registered overseas voters in New York State, 20,172 of whom are in the military.

In the five boroughs, there are 36,446 registered overseas voters, including 6,557 who serve in the armed forces, election officials said.

No, it probably wasn't deliberate despite my speculation above. It's too obvious a ploy to have been done with malice aforethought. Democratic cheating in elections is usually a lot more subtle. 

At the very least, some kind of explanation for this should be demanded. What we need is a federal agency to look into this matter, one that is non-partisan and dedicated to the concept of free and fair elections.

How about the Obama Justice Department? Oh, wait...