Category Archives: absentee ballots

“GOP war on mail ballots may backfire”

April 20, 2020, 7:53 amabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I have written this oped for the NY Daily News. It begins: If there’s one lesson the farce of conducting the April 7 Wisconsin elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught Republicans, it is that the… Continue reading

“Lawsuit seeks to ease absentee voting laws in Missouri during pandemic”

April 19, 2020, 8:11 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Voting rights groups filed suit Friday to allow Missourians to vote by mail if they are sheltering in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.The American Civil Liberties Union and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition said they… Continue reading

“Election Modifications to Avoid During the COVID-19 Pandemic”

April 18, 2020, 3:40 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Michael Morley for Lawfare: As we approach the presidential election this November, election officials are developing plans to deal with the unique risks posed by the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. I have written about how states have grappled with… Continue reading

“Voting by Mail and Ballot Rejection: Lessons from Florida for Elections in the Age of the Coronavirus”

April 18, 2020, 3:37 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Anna Baringer, Michael C. Herron, and Daniel A. Smith have posted this draft. Here is the abstract: The coronavirus and its concomitant need for social distancing have increased the attractiveness of voting by mail (VBM). VBM voting is nonetheless… Continue reading

Chad Flanders and Kristen Spina in Slate: Texas Courts Should Use the “Democracy Canon” To Interpret Excuse Restrictions in Absentee Ballot Laws to Cover COVID-19 Fears

April 17, 2020, 5:08 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

I like this a lot: As the ACLU stated it in its motion in the case, though, it’s arguable that everyone now has a “physical condition” that increases the “likelihood” that going to the polls might “injure[] the voter’s health.”… Continue reading

Breaking: Texas State Court Issues Order Requiring Texas to Accept Absentee Ballot Applications from Anyone Who Raises COVID-19 Pandemic as a “Disability” Preventing In-Person Voting; Appeal Expected

April 17, 2020, 1:57 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Ordinarily it requires an excuse for most voters to vote by absentee ballot. The Texas AG has taken the position that fear of contracting COVID-19 is not a valid excuse to vote absentee. This court order, which was expected,… Continue reading

“Trump Denigrates Vote By Mail, But Troops Have Been Doing It For Decades”

April 17, 2020, 9:35 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Government Executive reports.

“LWV Virginia Files Lawsuit to Protect Absentee Voters During COVID-19”

April 17, 2020, 8:29 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Release: Friday morning, the League of Women Voters of Virginia filed a challenge to the state’s witness signature requirement for absentee ballots. With the increased demand for absentee ballots due to COVID-19, the witness requirement presents a burden for… Continue reading

Charles Stewart’s Must-Read: Wisconsin Election Takeaways: State Ramped Up Absentee Voting from 10 Percent to 70 Percent; About 16,000 Fewer Voters in Milwaukee Thanks to Pandemic; State Will Need to Double Mail Capacity for November

April 17, 2020, 8:19 amabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

Here at MOF.

Video: “Joint Center Hosts Online Briefing with CBC Staff on Accessible Vote-by-Mail and Safe In-Person Voting in Black Communities”

April 17, 2020, 8:03 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Release: On Wednesday, April 15, the Joint Center hosted an online briefing on accessible vote-by-mail and safe in-person voting for Black communities. The session—organized in partnership with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and NAACP LDF—… Continue reading

Georgia: “Lawsuit demands Spanish absentee ballot applications in Gwinnett”

April 16, 2020, 4:11 pmabsentee ballots, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AJC reports.

“The Neutral Partisan Effects of Vote-by-Mail: Evidence from County-Level Roll-Outs”

April 16, 2020, 9:34 amabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

Important new study from Stanford’s Daniel Thompson, Jennifer Wu, Jesse Yoder and Andrew Hall. Here is the abstract: In response to COVID-19, many scholars and policymakers are urging the U.S. to implement a nationwide system of voting-by-mail to safeguard the… Continue reading

“Washington: Where Everyone Votes by Mail; We spoke to the secretary of state to get her take on voting by mail and whether she thinks the balloting option could be implemented across the country.”

April 15, 2020, 8:18 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Democratic lawsuit challenging Arizona absentee ballot deadline cites Supreme Court ruling on Wisconsin primary”

April 15, 2020, 8:15 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

WaPo: Democratic lawsuit challenging Arizona’s absentee ballot deadline is citing the Supreme Court’s recent ruling about the Wisconsin primary to support its case, arguing that the decision to allow absentee ballots to count in Wisconsin if they were postmarked… Continue reading