On August 31, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by President Trump, which challenges New Jersey’s plan to send all active registered voters a vote-by-mail ballot during the pandemic.
CLC is joined by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and will be representing two clients, NAACP-New Jersey and the League of Women Voters New Jersey (LWVNJ) in this effort.
CLC and partners urge the court to leave in place New Jersey’s current voting plan to preserve the ability of voters to vote safely and avoid widespread voter confusion. Altering course so late in the game could prevent voters from being able to participate in the presidential election this fall.
NAACP-New Jersey and LWVNJ provide voter education to their members in the state. When Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order in New Jersey that called for vote-by-mail ballots to be sent to all active registered voters in the state, members of both organizations changed their plans to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot because they now believe one will be sent to them.
If they are forced to change their plans again at the last minute, it would cause tremendous difficulties.
As is true with efforts in other states like Texas that have put barriers to voting in place, undoing New Jersey’s current voting plan would disproportionately harm communities of color who are being ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, and make it harder for them to participate in our democracy at a time when they have so much at stake in choosing leaders to represent their interests.
Our most important right as Americans is the right to vote and America should ensure that every eligible citizen, no matter what race or ethnicity, has a convenient way to vote in the election and have their vote counted.
