absentee voting

Mail-in Ballots: Pennsylvania’s Latest Lawsuit on Election Rules

Election Law Society · October 29, 2021 ·

By: Christopher Chau

When Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 77 into law on October 31, 2019, state legislators from both sides of the aisle hailed it as a bipartisan triumph as the state formally legalized no-excuse mail-in voting. Pennsylvania Republicans voted overwhelmingly for the bill, with 27-0 in the Senate and 105-2 in the House. In fact, the Democrats were more divided, with a majority in both chambers voting against the bill. In an interview with CNN, Republican Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Leader, Jake Corman, stated, “What’s important is that people have faith in the system…the elections process matters—it matters a great deal in a democracy.” As COVID-19 ravaged the nation in 2020, Act 77 became Pennsylvania voters’ relief to vote safely and privately during the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Iowa Voting Legislation: Punitive Restrictions and “Technical Violations”

Election Law Society · October 28, 2021 ·

By: Peter Quinn

Iowans are no strangers to potentially hazardous jobs, as anyone who has ever worked with a thresher can attest. But recent legislation has caused an unlikely profession to rocket up the list of professions with great personal danger attached: election officials. The danger, however, comes not from pointy farm equipment, but rather from the sudden potential for large fines and criminal charges for simple mistakes.

North Carolina’s HB 1169, Part 2: The Witness Requirement Saga Reduces to “Chaos”

cpkelliher · January 4, 2021 ·

By: Forrest Via

As discussed previously, the North Carolina General Assembly passed HB 1169 this summer to, in part, loosen absentee-ballot requirements in response to COVID-19: The legislation lowered the state’s absentee-ballot witness-signature requirement to one person. For some, this change was not enough—the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans filed suit against the State Board of Elections, arguing the presence of any witness requirement violated the state constitution due to the circumstances presented by the pandemic.

Indiana’s Noon Absentee Deadline: Election Officials Report Slow Counting, but No Major Problems

vebrankovic · December 2, 2020 ·

By Emma Merrill

Many Indiana voters were alarmed by Indiana’s voting procedures during the state’s June 2, 2020 primary election—Indiana’s first attempt at a statewide election during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I just got completely disenfranchised,” one voter reported after confronting a polling place that lacked the resources to deal with unprecedent mail-in voter turnout. Another Hoosier described Indiana’s election system as “completely overwhelmed.”

Indiana state law mandates that mail-in ballots must be received by noon on Election Day to be counted. Ind. Code § 3-11.5-4-3. In the run-up to Indiana’s primary, Indiana Democrats lobbied the Republican state administration to extend Indiana’s noon deadline for absentee ballots—to no avail. While Republican Governor Eric Holcomb did issue an Executive Order that shifted the primary date from May 3 to June 2, state Republicans refused to change the absentee ballot deadline’s noon requirement. Ultimately, over ten times as many Indiana voters used mail-in absentee ballots compared to the 2016 presidential primary. The surge in absentee voting resulted in processing and delivery delays for approximately 1800 voters’ mail-in ballots in Marion County, home to a significant community of minority voters. The state election system failed to cope with the pandemic, and voters were disenfranchised as a result.

The Drop Box Dilemma Part II

vebrankovic · November 23, 2020 ·

By Nicholas Matuszewski

On October 8, U.S District Judge Aaron Polster overruled the one drop box per county limit imposed by Frank LaRose, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State.

Judge Polster focused his ruling on the fact that 15% of Cincinnati and Cleveland’s population would have to travel over 90 minutes to vote. Of those 15%, most are poor minorities; many of whom may not even have the means to travel that far and would potentially be forced to utilize crowded public transportation and risk endangering their health during the pandemic.