Category Archives: absentee ballots

“Wisconsin election officials agree to mail absentee ballot request forms to most voters”

May 27, 2020, 9:10 pmabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Wisconsin election officials agreed Wednesday to send absentee ballot applications to most voters this fall, but the plan could face obstacles next month if Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on the wording of the mailing.The members of… Continue reading

“Fact-checking Trump’s recent claims that mail-in voting is rife with fraud”

May 27, 2020, 8:23 pmabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

CNN reports.

“NJ NAACP Leader Calls For Paterson Mail-In Vote to Be Canceled Amid Corruption Claims”

May 27, 2020, 7:47 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC New York reports.

“Texas Voters Face Malicious Prosecutions After COVID-19 Absentee Ballot Ruling”

May 27, 2020, 5:25 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: On Wednesday, Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling that makes a Lone Star-sized mess of the state’s law on absentee balloting and the question of whether voters who lack immunity to… Continue reading

New Lawsuit Challenges Kentucky Voting Rules During Pandemic

May 27, 2020, 9:29 amabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

Press release. Complaint.

“Column: Trump doesn’t like mail-in voting, but it’s not his call”

May 27, 2020, 6:57 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Doyle McManus LAT column.

Texas Digs Itself Into a Deeper Hole on Excuses for Absentee Balloting

May 26, 2020, 3:29 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Why does Texas continue to try to discourage voting during the pandemic? Texas has claimed that lack of immunity to COVID-19 is not a reason enough to vote by absentee. The technical argument is that it is not a “disability”… Continue reading

“Republican National Committee sues California to halt vote-by-mail for November general election”

May 25, 2020, 3:44 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

CNN: The Republican National Committee and other Republican groups have filed a lawsuit against California to stop the state from mailing absentee ballots to all voters ahead of the 2020 general election, a move that was made in response … Continue reading

Federal District Court in South Carolina Holds It Unconstitutional to Apply Witness Requirement to Absentee Ballots for June Primary in Light of COVID; Rejects Motion to Extend Deadline for Receipt of Absentee Ballots Postmarked by Election Day

May 25, 2020, 3:31 pmabsentee ballots, election administrationRick Hasen

You can find the district court’s opinion at this link. On the witness requirement, the district court found that South Carolina does not use the witness requirement to ferret out voter fraud and in any case there is virtually nothing… Continue reading

Montana State Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring the Enforcement of Montana Law Limiting Third Party Collection of Absentee Ballots and Requiring Mail Ballots Be Received by Election Day

May 22, 2020, 5:34 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

You can find the 17-page opinion here. Among other things the court found that the limit on third party collection of ballots would suppress voter turnout of Native Americans. This is one of the Marc Elias lawsuits (press release… Continue reading

“The Trailer: The mail voting debate gets more confounding”

May 21, 2020, 3:31 pmabsentee ballots, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Weigel: Since the start of the pandemic, vote-by-mail has been expanded in multiple states. The debate over that expansion has grown increasingly surreal and politically contradictory. As they ramp up their own absentee ballot programs, aimed at their base,… Continue reading

“Trump escalates campaign to discredit mail balloting, threatening federal funds to two battleground states”

May 21, 2020, 6:57 amabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: President Trump on Wednesday escalated his campaign to discredit the integrity of mail balloting, threatening to “hold up” federal funding to Michigan and Nevada in response to the states’ plans to increase voting by mail to reduce the… Continue reading