OMB Approves Pentagon Emergency Removal of the Never-Resided Checkbox From the Overseas Voter Form; DNC Sues Oct. 1

The Democratic National Committee sued the Department of War and the Office of Management and Budget on Oct. 1 over the removal of a checkbox from the federal form Americans abroad use to register to vote and request mail ballots, per The Epoch Times; NPR reported that the suit seeks to block the revised forms. Among the changes was removing a checkbox for an overseas U.S. citizen to identify as having never lived in the United States. Some version of that checkbox has been on the Federal Post Card Application and the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot since 2013.

Weeks before a Sept. 19 deadline for states to send those voters midterm ballots, the Pentagon submitted emergency requests to bypass the usual months-long process for changing federal forms. The DNC argues the changes were “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Pentagon’s stated reason, in a statement: the forms were changed to “eliminate voter confusion”.

OMB received the Pentagon’s request on Aug. 26 and approved it on Aug. 28. A public comment period opened later; comments are due Nov. 9. The number of never-resided voters affected is not in the fetched text.