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Tennessee judge orders greater access to voting by mail
A Tennessee judge ruled Thursday that the state must allow any registered voter to cast a ballot by mail, an issue that has moved to the forefront during the coronavirus pandemic and drawn unsubstantiated claims of fraud by President Trump.
“In this time of the worldwide covid-19 pandemic and its contagion in gatherings of people, almost all states — both Republican and Democrat — are providing their citizens the health protection of a voting by mail option,” Davidson County chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle wrote, according to the Tennessean. “The governors, state officials and legislators in [Southern] states have spearheaded efforts to expand access to voting by mail to protect the health of their citizens during the pandemic.”
In Tennessee, absentee ballots and mail-in voting are currently available only to those who are sick, disabled, traveling or elderly. Lyle ruled eligible voters should not have to have an excuse to request a ballot by mail.
Forty-six states offer access to mail voting to all registered voters, though some require a reason. Experts estimate up to 70 percent of all ballots cast in November could be done by mail, NPR reported. In 2018, it was 23.1 percent.
“In this time of the worldwide covid-19 pandemic and its contagion in gatherings of people, almost all states — both Republican and Democrat — are providing their citizens the health protection of a voting by mail option,” Davidson County chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle wrote, according to the Tennessean. “The governors, state officials and legislators in [Southern] states have spearheaded efforts to expand access to voting by mail to protect the health of their citizens during the pandemic.”
In Tennessee, absentee ballots and mail-in voting are currently available only to those who are sick, disabled, traveling or elderly. Lyle ruled eligible voters should not have to have an excuse to request a ballot by mail.
Forty-six states offer access to mail voting to all registered voters, though some require a reason. Experts estimate up to 70 percent of all ballots cast in November could be done by mail, NPR reported. In 2018, it was 23.1 percent.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/04/coronavirus-live-updates-us/#link-ZKRTHY766NGGJM3IQSVFSQ2EZU
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TY!
