coronavirus

These Vote-By-Mail Lawsuits Could Help Decide the Presidential Election

Courts have become battlegrounds in battleground states during the coronavirus pandemic

An election worker handles vote-by-mail ballots
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

As health experts warn that the country could still be grappling with the coronavirus pandemic this fall, lawsuits aiming to expand access to mail-in ballots in key battleground states could help determine the outcome of the presidential race.

Nonpartisan groups, such as the Campaign Legal Center, as well as a handful of Democratic organizations, including Priorities USA, are backing lawsuits in more than a dozen states in an effort to eliminate administrative hurdles that could make vote-by-mail difficult or even inaccessible to voters, NBCNews reports.

“A large percentage of people are going to vote by mail, maybe even a large majority,” said Paul Smith, vice president of litigation and strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization that works to support access to voting and is currently litigating cases related to the coronavirus and vote-by-mail in MinnesotaTexas and New Jersey.

“It's incredibly important this year that everyone is able to choose to vote by mail without an undue burden,” Smith said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com.

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