The Vote And Voting Problems, Pre-Election Day 2020
Weekend Update: Maine Ballots Must Be Received By Election Day
Apologies for interrupting everyone’s Saturday, but one quick update from Maine: It hasn’t been getting as much attention as other states, but there had also been a lawsuit pending in Maine to extend the deadline for absentee ballots to be received from Nov. 3 to Nov. 13. Late yesterday, however, the Maine Supreme Court upheld the state’s requirement that all ballots must be received by Election Day. That’s likely to be the final say on the matter.
The Latest In Texas Election Law
One of the last unresolved election-law questions is over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that limited the number of absentee ballot dropoff sites to one per county. This afternoon, a state court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down the Republican governor’s order. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean large counties like Harris and Travis can now open as many drop sites as they want. The state is expected to quickly appeal this decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
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.