The Michigan Messenger

The Detroit News reports on a new study that indicates that some Michigan citizens living overseas, particularly those in the military in active war zones, may have their right to vote compromised because the state does not allow enough time for them to receive, fill out and return their absentee ballots:
 

Michigan is among 16 states that don’t provide enough time for military personnel serving overseas to cast their votes, according to a national study released Tuesday.

It found that Michigan would need to add 13 days to the voting calendar to ensure its residents serving abroad with the military have sufficient time to vote and make sure it’s counted.

“We cannot allow the men and women who defend our country to be denied the ability to exercise this basic democratic right,” Doug Chapin, who directed the study on the states for the Pew Center, said in a statement accompanying the release of the report.

The article notes that while the Department of Defense recommends a 45 day window for sending ballots out and getting them back, it took soldiers from Michigan an average of 57 days to complete that process. It can be difficult for the mail to reach soldiers on active duty, particularly if they are away from their bases on missions for any extended period of time.

The article also notes that in 2006, “about two-thirds of the estimated 1 million ballots distributed to military and other overseas voters were not counted because they weren’t returned, came back too late or had other problems.” In order to fix this problem in Michigan, the two parties would have to move their nominating conventions up a bit.