The Justice Department filed suit against the state of Vermont on Thursday because it failed to send more than 20 percent of absentee ballots requested by military and overseas voters out 45 days before Election Day. DOJ filed the lawsuit under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and is seeking an order requiring Vermont to extend the absentee ballot deadline until Nov. 16 for those who received late ballots.
“We are filing this lawsuit to ensure that Vermont’s military and overseas voters will be provided the full 45 days guaranteed by UOCAVA to receive, mark and return their ballots in the upcoming November general election,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, who heads DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
