HELENA, MT – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a motion to intervene in Trump v. Bullock on behalf of its client, the League of Women Voters of Montana, to defend Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s August 6 directive allowing counties to conduct the general election primarily by mail at their discretion. The League was supportive of this directive as a measure to preserve voters’ safe access to the ballot during the ongoing pandemic, and it was challenged by the Trump campaign, Republican National Committee, and others. A hearing is scheduled for September 22. 

“Montana counties should not be prevented from allowing their citizens to vote safely during the pandemic,” said Jonathan Diaz, legal counsel, voting rights, at Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “The ability to conduct elections by mail proved critical during this year’s primary elections in Montana, and the counties should not be prohibited from doing so again this fall. Vote by mail is safe and secure, and the existing directive allows local officials to conduct their elections in a safe and secure manner that best fits their communities and benefits all Montana voters.”

“We clearly saw how voters were protected when Montana conducted our primary election by mail in June,” said Nancy Leifer, president of the League of Women Voters of Montana. “The COVID-19 pandemic does not show signs of stopping before November, threatening the health and safety of Montana’s most vulnerable voting communities: communities of color, the elderly, and disabled individuals. The governor’s vote by mail Directive was the common-sense choice to protect voters’ health and their access to the ballot. The League seeks to intervene to protect the rights of voters this November.” 

The governor’s August 6 directive mirrored his earlier directive allowing counties to conduct the state’s June 2 primary election by mail. As a result of that directive, all 56 Montana counties chose to conduct their elections by mail.  

ATLANTA, GA – Today, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the state of Florida can condition voting rights on an individual’s ability to pay, reversing a lower court decision and prohibiting otherwise eligible citizens who owe fines and fees associated with a past felony conviction from voting this fall.

“This is a deeply disappointing decision,” said Paul Smith, vice president at CLC. “While the full rights restoration envisioned by Amendment 4 has become less likely to be realized this fall, we will continue this fight for all Florida voters, so the full benefits of Amendment 4 will someday be realized. Florida’s voters spoke loud and clear when nearly two-thirds of them supported rights restoration at the ballot box in 2018. Nobody should ever be denied their constitutional rights because they can’t afford to pay fines and fees.”

Florida’s General Election voter registration deadline is October 5 and early voting begins on October 19.

NASHVILLE, TN – Today, a federal court has temporarily suspended a law that would have prevented tens of thousands of Tennessee voters from casting a vote by mail. Under the order, any Tennessee voter who registered to vote by mail or online, and will vote for the first time this November, is now permitted to vote absentee if they otherwise meet the state’s eligibility criteria for doing so. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law had challenged Tennessee’s law as unconstitutional earlier this year.

This change is likely to help tens of thousands of first-time Tennessee voters, including newly-registered college students that are away for school. It also will make voting safer and more accessible for people with “special vulnerability to COVID-19” and seniors over 60 years old, who have recently registered to vote. A prior Tennessee Supreme Court order made clear that those with “special vulnerability to COVID-19” and their caretakers are eligible to vote absentee this year. But the law challenged here would have stopped first-time voters – or voters casting a ballot for the first time in a new residence – from taking advantage of the expanded eligibility criteria.

The court order, signed by Judge Eli Richardson of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, explicitly states that the change must be made without delay in order to be effective for the November 3, 2020 General Election. The court order requires Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett to publicize this change by putting a notice prominently on his website.

“This is an important victory for Tennessee voters wishing to participate in the 2020 election that don’t want to have to choose between their health and exercising their right to vote,” said Danielle Lang, co-director, voting rights and redistricting, at CLC. “Especially during an election held during a pandemic, it is important that anybody be able to vote by absentee and mail ballot to encourage participation.”

“The court recognized that forcing voters to choose between voting and their health violates the Constitution,” said Ezra Rosenberg, co-director, voting rights project at Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This decision means that first-time voters in Tennessee who registered by mail or on-line – and there are tens of thousands of them, many of whom are young – can vote in November by mail, without risking their health.” 

The case is called A. Philip Randolph Institute v. Hargett.