Groups sue to expand absentee voting amid virus
A coalition of Tennessee nonprofits sued the state Friday in an effort to expand access to absentee voting and mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tennessee's limits on voting by mail force voters to "choose between risking their health by voting in person, or forgoing their right to vote entirely," the federal lawsuit stated. "Tennessee voters must be permitted to cast their ballots without subjecting themselves to unnecessary exposure to a pandemic disease."
In Tennessee, absentee voting is mostly limited to people who are sick, disabled, traveling, or 60 or older.
The plaintiffs called on a judge to ease absentee voting restrictions, which they called unconstitutional. The lawsuit also challenged laws that can disqualify some absentee ballots and limit groups' abilities to help people get mail-in ballots.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include The Equity Alliance in Nashville, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute in Memphis, the state chapter of the NAACP and two individual voters.
Charlane Oliver, co-executive director of The Equity Alliance, said her group wanted to help voters get absentee ballots for elections this year, but Tennessee election laws make that a crime.
“Tennessee voters should not be forced to choose between their own personal safety and participating in our democratic process," Oliver said in a statement. "We are in unprecedented circumstances that call for state officials to implement safer and secure approaches to ensure democracy is preserved in the Volunteer State.”
A spokesperson for Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, who oversees elections and was named as a defendant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
The Tennessee suit is in line with other pending efforts led by Democrats and voting rights groups in Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Missouri and Pennsylvania. The groups say in-person voting could be dangerous as the coronavirus continues to spread across the nation.
President Donald Trump has opposed federal efforts to encourage states to relax absentee voting restrictions.