As Voter Safety And Politics Clash, Fight Over Mail-In Voting Ramps Up
The latest developments include: a ProPublica and WRAL News analysis that finds black voters in North Carolina are more than twice as likely to have their mail-in ballot rejected; how Ohio made voting decisions; a pending court ruling in Montana; and record early voting in Virginia.
The Boston Globe:
How Do You Run 10,000 Elections Safely During A Pandemic?
If there is one thing that defines the 2020 election, it is uncertainty, forcing election administrators to navigate a landscape shifting by the day. When COVID-19 disrupted the primaries, elections officials chased down hand sanitizer and face shields, scrambled to replace aging poll workers, and steeled their offices for an unprecedented flood of mail-in ballots. And now, the partisan volleying over the ground rules of the election has them anxiously watching for last-minute court decisions or new state laws that could upend their efforts all over again. (Bidgood, 9/24)
ProPublica:
In North Carolina, Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots Much More Likely To Be Rejected Than Those From Any Other Race
Sandra Cosby is no stranger to the election process — or to voting by mail. In recent years, she’s cast her ballot by mail days before the election. Then, on Election Day, she takes a break from her purchasing job with the school system to help out as a Wake County poll worker, guiding voters at precincts. So when Cosby, 58, sealed up her mail-in absentee ballot in 2018, she handed the envelope to the letter carrier without any worries. (Chou and Dukes, 9/23)
ProPublica:
Before Limiting Ballot Drop Boxes To One Per County, Top Ohio Election Officials Secretly Consulted Promoter Of Debunked Voting Fraud Fears
On July 15, a civil rights group formed by Black union workers called on the Ohio secretary of state to make voting amid the pandemic easier and safer. It advocated placing multiple secure ballot drop boxes in counties across the state. When a deputy to Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose received the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s press release, he responded quickly — but not to the group. Instead, according to records obtained by ProPublica, the deputy contacted the Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky, a leading advocate for the discredited argument that American elections are tainted by widespread voting fraud. (Spies and Pearson, 9/24)
AP:
Judge Will Rule Soon On GOP Attempt To Block Mail Ballots
Requiring Montana counties to open polling places for November’s election would be “absolutely catastrophic,” for voters and for public health, the governor’s chief legal counsel, Raph Graybill, told a federal judge Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen heard arguments in Missoula on a motion by President Donald Trump’s campaign and other Republican groups who want to overturn an option that Gov. Steve Bullock gave counties to hold the election by mail to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Christensen said he would rule quickly. (Hanson, 9/23)
The Washington Post:
Early Voting Turnout Hits Record Numbers In Virginia
Record numbers of Virginians are voting early and requesting absentee ballots this year, as the coronavirus pandemic and newly loosened election laws reshape Old Dominion voting habits in a presidential year. Some 100,356 voters have cast ballots in person since early voting began Friday, while 884,032 have requested absentee ballots, state elections officials reported on Wednesday. In all of 2016, just under 353,000 Virginians opted for early in-person voting and about 185,000 voted absentee by mail, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. (Vozzella, 9/23)
In other election news —
The Washington Post:
Trump Looks For Ways To Win Over Voters On Health Care After Failing To Deliver On Promises
President Trump is pushing advisers to deliver health-care “wins” in the final weeks of the campaign, leading to a frenzied rollout of proposals as polls show the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and health-care policy are two of his biggest vulnerabilities in his reelection bid. Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech Thursday in Charlotte, broadly outlining how he would approach health-care policy in a second term, though the speech is likely to be light on details. Instead, Trump will tout the administration’s efforts to lower drug prices, address surprise medical bills and improve health-care price transparency, according to two senior administration officials and an outside lobbyist familiar with the plans. (Dawsey and Abutaleb, 9/23)
