FOR NOW….
Voter suppression wins one and loses another…
Ain’t America GREAT?
The Texas Democratic Party, which filed the lawsuit, argued that the state’s current rules are discriminatory because they allow absentee voting only among voters who are out of state, have a disability or are over age 65. The suit argued that fear of contracting the novel coronavirus should also be a reason to cast a mail-in ballot.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery agreed last month, issuing a preliminary injunction allowing all Texans to seek a mail ballot if they fear getting sick. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, an Abbott appointee, immediately appealed….
Tennessee must give all of its 4.1 million registered voters the option to cast ballots by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, a judge ruled Thursday.
Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the state’s limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitute “an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.”
The decision upends a determination by Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office that fear of catching or unwittingly spreading the virus at the polls wouldn’t qualify someone to vote by mail. The state argued such an expansion wouldn’t be feasible for the 2020 elections, claiming lack of money, personnel and equipment for increased voting by mail, among other concerns.
The ruling is likely to be appealed….
Supreme Court Turns Down Request to Allow All Texans to Vote by Mail
Democrats in the state had urged the justices to reinstate a federal trial judge’s order based on the 26th Amendment, which bars voting discrimination based on age….
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