ACLU Sues Mississippi To Make Absentee Voting More Accessible During Pandemic

TOPLINE

The ACLU and the Mississippi Center for Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state of Mississippi to make absentee voting more accessible during the Covid-19 pandemic as health concerns have led multiple states to make adjustments despite President Donald Trump’s protests. 

KEY FACTS

crucial quote

“Mississippians should not have to risk exposure to a deadly virus in order to vote. The court can ensure that voters do not have to choose between their health and their vote,” Theresa Lee, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement.

key background

Most of the legislative changes to voting laws across the country are temporary and have been made by state and local officials who have the power to make changes during emergencies like the pandemic. All states currently allow some absentee voting. Voters in 34 states can cast an absentee ballot without an excuse or can use coronavirus as the excuse, according to the New York Times. 

chief critic

“There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent,” Trump claimed in a May 26 tweet about California’s vote-by-mail plans. Twitter labeled the tweets as part of its new process to combat misinformation, saying “we believe those Tweets could confuse voters about what they need to do to receive a ballot and participate in the election process.”

further reading

Complaint

A Record 76% of Americans Can Vote By Mail In 2020 (New York Times)

Trump Keeps Criticizing Universal Vote By Mail. But The Nation Isn’t Doing That (NPR)

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