As work gets underway Monday morning, members of the House Administration committee will receive a letter from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady. The letter urges an investigation into shortcomings of election districts tasked with providing absentee voters, specifically combat soldiers, ballots in the time required by law.
"I respectfully write with an urgent request for the House Administration Committee to investigate serious deficiencies in the nationwide implementation and enforcement of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009," writes Brady.
The MOVE act is an amendment to the 1986 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ("UOCAVA"). The key element of that act is the requirement that ballots be sent 45 days ahead of the election, creating ample time for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive their ballots and mail them back in time to be counted. That means ballots needed to be mailed by September 18th.