WASHINGTON--Contrary to assertions by Illinois Republicans, there is no major problem in shipping out ballots to military personnel serving overseas, according to an analysis by the Chicago Sun-Times political writer Abdon M. Pallasch.

Lynn Sweet and Pallasch story about how the Illinois State Board of Elections is in talks with the U.S. Justice Department to make sure all overseas ballots sent out late by local election jurisdictions area counted is here.

Pallasch's key findings:

*Figures Illinois election officials sent to the Justice Department on Friday show no evidence of an effort by Democratic local election officials to hold back ballots from Republican-leaning soldiers serving overseas:

• Of the 16,575 absentee ballots requested in Illinois, only 1,832 -- 11 percent -- have been requested by servicemen and women serving overseas.

• The vast majority of absentee ballots are going to non-military citizens living overseas or who will be out-of-town on Election Day, college students studying abroad, etc. -- voters who have no automatic tendency toward either party. And, actually, under the new no-excuse-necessary absentee voting laws, voters need not even be out of town to vote absentee.