Editorial: Still up to the states
We were glad to see that the President, while unwilling to honor the so-called soldier vote bill with his signature, allowed it to become law with the expiration of the constitutional 10-day period after delivery of the measure to him by Congress.
His judgment that the bill is no more than “a standing invitation to the several states to make it practicable for their citizens to vote” can hardly be disputed. But it would have been mischievous of him to revoke that invitation simple because of pique at the success of Rep. Rankin and others in circumscribing the federal ballot bill with all kinds of restrictions.
It’s shameful that Congress couldn’t shake loose from one of the most inept demonstrations of petty politics Washington has seen so that a simple, uniform ballot of some type could have been provided for the Armed Forces.
But now that any further Congressional action is out, we hope the states will speedily enact effective legislation which will enable a maximum number of voters abroad to exercise their constitutional privilege.
We hope, also, that the President will instruct the Army, Navy and Maritime Service to cooperate with the states by distributing the ballots to voters on duty abroad and returning them to the states where they can be counted.