Washington Post: Voting rules changed quickly for the primaries. But the battle over how Americans will cast ballots in the fall is just heating up.

07.3.2020 / By Elise Viebeck
Washington Post: Voting rules changed quickly for the primaries. But the battle over how Americans will cast ballots in the fall is just heating up.

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections with Common Cause, said decisions about how to handle voting during a pandemic are not easy but “have to be made.” “There is no waiting it out,” Albert said, noting that as more time passes, the shorter the window for educating voters about any changes becomes. “As a state legislator, as a secretary of state, as a governor, you are responsible for ensuring that voters can access the ballot. By not moving ahead, they’re really abdicating their responsibility to the voters.”

When the novel coronavirus pandemic collided with this year’s primaries, states across the country raced to temporarily adjust voting procedures to make it safer for people to cast their ballots.

But efforts to set rules for the general election are now locked in more intractable fights, fueled by deepening polarization around voting practices and a torrent of litigation aimed at shaping how ballots are cast and counted.

While the vast majority of voters were permitted to cast absentee ballots during the primaries, only about 10 states so far have announced that they will make voting by mail easier for November, raising fears that Election Day could be marked by long lines and unsafe conditions at polling locations if the health crisis persists.

With Republican governors under pressure from President Trump not to expand voting by mail and many legislatures adjourned for the year or deadlocked along party lines, changes in the coming months are likely to come through court decisions. …

As the legal fights play out, state officeholders are coming under pressure to clarify the rules for the fall — especially in the 16 states that currently require an excuse to vote absentee. …

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections with Common Cause, said decisions about how to handle voting during a pandemic are not easy but “have to be made.”

“There is no waiting it out,” Albert said, noting that as more time passes, the shorter the window for educating voters about any changes becomes. “As a state legislator, as a secretary of state, as a governor, you are responsible for ensuring that voters can access the ballot. By not moving ahead, they’re really abdicating their responsibility to the voters.”

See More: Voting RightsVoting & ElectionsCOVID-19