{"id":3169,"date":"2012-09-17T16:18:22","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T20:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=3169"},"modified":"2012-09-17T16:18:22","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T20:18:22","slug":"jay-sekulow-standing-up-for-u-s-military-on-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/09\/jay-sekulow-standing-up-for-u-s-military-on-election-day.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Standing-up for U.S. Military on Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With Election Day fast approaching, we filed a very important amicus brief today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit urging a three-judge panel to overturn a lower court decision which prohibits the State of Ohio from providing members of the U.S. Armed Forces a small amount of additional time to vote.<\/p>\n

As you may recall, The Obama Administration filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state-enacted measure giving members of the military three extra days to vote early before Election Day. A federal district court agreed with the Obama Administration and put in place a preliminary injunction preventing the Ohio military voting rights measure from being used.<\/p>\n

In our “friend-of-the-court” brief, posted here<\/a>, we urge the appeals court to to reverse the lower court decision and vacate the preliminary injunction.<\/p>\n

The fact is that members of the U.S. military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms here and abroad. The Ohio law accommodates the uncertainty that comes with serving in the Armed Forces and simply gives our service men and women a few extra days to exercise their right to vote.<\/p>\n

In the brief filed today, the ACLJ argues that the Constitution, including the Equal Protection Clause, allows governments to recognize the reality that armed service members and their families make tremendous sacrifices that other Americans do not make. The ACLJ contends: “The Ohio General Assembly has enacted a sensible accommodation that addresses, albeit to a minor degree, a most troubling irony: military service to protect fundamental principles such as the right to vote makes the ability to exercise that right much more difficult for members of the armed services and their families. This accommodation is constitutionally sound.”<\/p>\n

In addition to representing the ACLJ in this brief, we represent more than 100,000 Americans<\/a> who have signed on to the Committee to Defend Military Voting Rights.<\/p>\n

We have made it clear<\/a> that\u00a0the Supreme Court has long held that the military is unique, “a specialized community governed by a separate discipline from that of the civilian,” in part because “‘it is the primary business of armies and navies to fight or be ready to fight\u00a0wars should that occasion arise.'”<\/p>\n

The ACLJ’s argument in the brief is clear:<\/p>\n

“The reality is that members of the armed services and their spouses and dependents often have, in practical terms, a much smaller window of time than other Ohioans to exercise their right to vote due to the rigors of military life. Plaintiffs-Appellees\u2019 civilian members are not faced with the kind of government imposed family dislocations and disruptions created by the demands of military service, including preparation for, and recovery from, temporary duty and deployment assignments. Members of the armed services (unlike Plaintiffs-Appellees\u2019 members) have to pack up and go wherever the Department of Defense tells them to go, often on short notice, leaving them with a small window of time to make sure that all of their family and personal affairs are in order.”<\/p>\n

The Ohio measure is certainly reasonable and is fully consistent with the U.S. Constitution. The Obama Administration’s challenge is legally flawed and we urge the appeals court to reject the lower court decision and take the appropriate action to permit members of U.S. Armed forces to participate fully in the electoral process.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Election Day fast approaching, we filed a very important amicus brief today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit urging a three-judge panel to overturn a lower court decision which prohibits the State of Ohio from providing members of the U.S. Armed Forces a small amount of additional time to vote.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,43],"tags":[712,6,710,110,755,711],"class_list":["post-3169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2012-elections","category-u-s-military","tag-armed-forces","tag-constitution","tag-election-day","tag-ohio","tag-u-s-military","tag-voting"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Standing-up for U.S. Military on Election Day - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/09\/jay-sekulow-standing-up-for-u-s-military-on-election-day.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Standing-up for U.S. Military on Election Day - 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3169"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3174,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3169\/revisions\/3174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}