老澳门开奖结果

DETROIT 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果, 老澳门开奖结果 of Michigan, Arnold & Porter, and Goodman Acker filed a lawsuit today challenging Michigan鈥檚 requirement that absentee ballots be received by Election Day in order to be counted.

The lawsuit, League of Women Voters of Michigan v. Benson, was filed in the Michigan Court of Appeals on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Michigan and individual voters.

The people of Michigan overwhelmingly approved Proposal 3, a 2018 ballot initiative that gave voters a constitutional right to submit an absentee ballot, including by mail, at any point during the 40 days before the election.

An Election Day return deadline for absentee ballots, as opposed to a postmark deadline, violates this right and could illegally lead to thousands of voters being disenfranchised by their absentee ballot being rejected.

According to the most recent data from the Michigan Secretary of State, 1.75 percent of absentee ballots were rejected for the May 5, 2020, election because they arrived at their respective clerks鈥� offices after 8 p.m. on Election Day. This means of the 7.7 million registered Michigan voters, at least 134,000 voters could be disenfranchised in November.

The groups are seeking an expedited decision due to the fast-approaching August 4 primary and November 3 general election.

Several states have taken related steps to help ensure that every vote cast is counted, including Alaska, Iowa, Maryland, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The following statements are from:

Theresa Lee, staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Voting Rights Project: 鈥淕iven COVID-19, vote by mail will play a critical role in the 2020 elections as voters look to protect their health and participate in democracy. Right now, Michigan鈥檚 absentee ballot voting process is not ready to meet its biggest test ever when millions attempt to vote by absentee ballot. This lawsuit seeks to resolve those issues.鈥�

Sharon Dolente, 老澳门开奖结果 of Michigan voting rights strategist: 鈥淰oters must never have to choose between their health and safety or their sacred right to vote. We celebrate the increase of absentee voting we are seeing statewide, but Michigan鈥檚 election officials must continue to expand access to the ballot by allowing voters to mail their ballots in on Election Day. This will ensure voters have a clear deadline and give Michigan鈥檚 clerks and staff more time to process ballots.鈥�

Christina Schlitt, president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan: 鈥淢ichigan voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 3 and enhanced their access to the ballot. Now it is in the duty of our election system and officials to ensure that every vote counts in Michigan by removing the unconstitutional barriers to absentee voting. Proposal 3 needs to be supported the way it was written, as voters approved it.鈥�

Complaint: /legal-document/complaint-league-women-voters-michigan-v-benson