Election Changes
Please bookmark our litigation tracker for a complete compilation of the latest developments in every lawsuit regarding changes to election and voting procedures.
Massachusetts: Massachusetts' Democratic-run state House has almost unanimously passed a bill that would allow excuse-free mail voting for the state's Sept. 1 primary (voting by mail without an excuse is already available for the November general election). In addition, the bill would count any ballots that are postmarked by Election Day so long as they are received by the Friday after the election; under current law, ballots must be received by Election Day.
The measure now goes to the state Senate. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has not said whether he supports or opposes the bill, but the 155-1 vote in the House suggests the legislature could easily override a veto.
Missouri: Republican Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill that allows those who are 65 and over, live in a nursing home, or have certain medical conditions to request a mail-in ballot without an excuse for Missouri's Aug. 4 primary and the November general election. The measure also lets those under 65 obtain mail ballots, but they are required to have their ballots notarized.
Ohio: Ohio's Republican-run state House has passed a bill on a party-line vote that would bar any "public official" from altering the "time, place, and manner" of any election, an effort to prevent a repeat of what happened with the state's March 17 primary, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine abruptly canceled the day before. The legislation would also prohibit Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose from including postage-paid return envelopes with absentee ballots.
The bill did strip several provisions from an earlier version that had met with widespread criticism, including measures that would have eliminated three days of early voting right before Election Day and ended the state's practice of sending absentee ballot applications to all active voters.
Also removed were a set of emergency procedures that would allow for an all-mail election during the pendency of a public health crisis like the current pandemic. Under that proposal, the governor, with the approval of the legislature, could have closed all polling places and directed the secretary of state to send a postcard to voters explaining how they can request absentee ballots. It would not have required the state to send out absentee ballot applications or ballots.
Tennessee: A state court has ruled that all Tennessee voters are entitled to request an absentee ballot "during the pendency of pandemic circumstances," in effect waiving the state's requirement that voters present an excuse in order to vote absentee.
The judge, who was ruling in two similar cases that had been consolidated, rejected the state's arguments that sending additional mail ballots would cost too much and would lead to voter fraud. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle called the state's cost calculations "oddly skewed" and added, "As to voter fraud, the State's own expert debunks and rejects that as a reason for not expanding access to voting by mail."
However, even though Lyle explicitly ordered election officials to cease enforcing the state's excuse requirement and to furnish absentee ballots to all voters, the secretary of state's office immediately sent instructions to local clerks instructing them not to comply. Lyle's order remains in effect and no stay has been issued, potentially opening up officials who do not heed it to charges of contempt of court.