On April 22, 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Carolina, and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a federal lawsuit over South Carolina’s failure to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail during the COVID-19 pandemic — even for its fast-approaching June 9 statewide primary elections. The lawsuit challenged a state requirement that forced people who vote absentee to have a third-party witness signature on their ballot envelope, as well as an “excuse” requirement that failed to provide accommodation for absentee voting during the pandemic. Even if voters were allowed to vote absentee “because of injury or illness” that kept them at home, election officials had rejected the view that this currently “include [d] self-isolating due to a pandemic.”
Requiring voters to be physically present at their traditional polling places during the COVID-19 outbreak — where they will be congregating and waiting in line with others to vote — is contrary to the advice of public health experts. Amid a pandemic, the witness requirement put people’s health at risk.
Why this case?
The signature and excuse requirements to absentee vote in South Carolina violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Requiring voters to vote in person during a deadly pandemic creates an unconstitutional burden of forced choice between exercising a fundamental right and risking one’s health. This is particularly true for those who are disabled, immunocompromised, or otherwise at greater risk of complications arising from the virus.
The latest
On May 25, 2020, the court granted a preliminary injunction, or immediate relief, to allow absentee voters to vote without a third-party signature. This was a huge victory for thousands, allowing their voices to be heard in the electoral process amid a global pandemic.
