O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by civil rights groups seeks to allow all Missourians to vote absentee in upcoming elections to help reduce the risk of catching or spreading the coronavirus. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition filed the lawsuit Friday on behalf of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters and several residents. It claims that requiring voters to appear at a traditional polling places during the pandemic puts their lives at risk. Missouri law allows absentee voting, but only for people with certain reasons, such as illness or travel on Election Day.
Here’s more from the League of Women Voters:
To protect the right to vote in 2020, the League of Women Voters of Missouri has joined the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP and several individual voters in filing a lawsuit in Cole County Friday that seeks a declaratory judgment that physical distancing and fear of contracting COVID-19 are valid reasons to request an absentee ballot in Missouri. The suit also seeks injunctive relief preventing local election officials from refusing such ballots or requiring them to be notarized.
“Missouri must expand and protect access to the ballot in these unprecedented times,” says LWVMO President Evelyn Maddox. “We want any Missouri voter who is social distancing in compliance with CDC guidelines to be able to request an absentee ballot in 2020 and return it without a notary seal.”
Missouri law allows absentee voting without a notarized signature for voters confined due to illness, but the Secretary of State has not issued guidelines to election authorities that voters who are concerned about the COVID-19 virus can use that excuse. St. Louis County has already mailed absentee ballot applications to voters over 60 since they are at higher risk of a severe reaction to the virus, but other election authorities are not proactively enabling absentee voting in 2020.
“Inconsistencies between voting jurisdictions violate the equal protection clause,” says Denise Lieberman, General Counsel for the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition. “Fear of contracting the coronavirus should be a valid reason to request an absentee ballot. Since election authorities can verify voter signatures, they should be told to accept all ballots without a notary seal this year. Absentee voting either by mail or in person will reduce the crowds at polling places and make them safer for other voters in 2020 elections.”
The state has a new electronic notary system, but the Secretary of State’s office indicates that it won’t work for absentee ballots.
In a similar lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Texas and the Austin Area, a federal court judge ruled on April 16 that voters there may cite COVID-19 in mail-in ballot request forms as a disability requirement.
Maddox said League members will continue to advocate for other election reforms in 2020. “No excuse, no notary absentee voting is the best way to ensure that Missouri voters can safely participate in 2020 elections and protect public health. The state must also ensure a safe voting environment for poll workers and in-person voters.”
The League of Women Voters of Missouri is a non-partisan political organization with a mission to educate and empower voters. League volunteers register thousands of voters each election cycle. The League’s online guide for Missouri’s June 2 municipal elections is available at VOTE411.org.
