The Vote And Voting Problems, Pre-Election Day 2020

Mississippi is one of only five states that are not allowing anyone who wants to vote by mail. But the state has reached an agreement with voting-rights groups to make voting a bit easier: Curbside voting will now be available for people with symptoms of COVID-19, and absentee voters will be allowed to fix problems with signatures on their ballots.

A couple of decisions out of Pennsylvania Friday and some not-great news for the Trump reelection campaign. First, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected a bid by the Trump campaign to have poll watchers at new satellite election offices in Philadelphia where voters can request and return mail-in ballots in person. The campaign had argued that the offices were operating as de facto polling places, but in a 2-1 decision, the court ruled to uphold an earlier rejection from a trial court. Meanwhile, in a unanimous decision, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled that counties cannot reject mail-in ballots solely due to a signature mismatch, a response to a lawsuit brought by voter-rights groups.

In New Jersey Thursday, another challenge from the Trump campaign seeking to stop the state’s mail-in ballot program was tossed out by a federal court judge.

Only three states don’t allow mail ballots to be returned in person: Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. A lawsuit sought to change that in Missouri, but Thursday a court ruling confirmed that, no, Missouri voters cannot drop off their mail ballots in person.