A House committee ruled yesterday that no state or local officials will be penalized for their failure to send ballots to members of the military on time in the run-up to the 2010 elections. Investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the state Board of Elections looked into 36 counties that did not send military ballots until October. By law, those ballots have to be mailed out 45 days prior to an election. The state is still investigating potential federal penalties.