“Vote-By-Mail, Critical In Pandemic, Poses Risks For Voters Of Color”

Tierney Sneed for TPM:

The pandemic stands to bring a major surge of mail-in and absentee voting, both in the remaining spring and summer elections, and in the general election this fall.

But the system — critical for keeping voters safe and slowing the spread of the coronavirus — is not without its shortcomings, and those shortcomings can disproportionately affect minority voters.

As election officials scramble to expand their absentee programs, voter advocates are pressing them to preserve adequate in-person voting options, pointing specifically to the obstacles faced by voters of color. They are also noting the ways that vote-by-mail systems — particularly, if implemented sloppily — tend to disenfranchise minority voters at a higher rate than white ones.

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