ACLU supporter –

The coronavirus pandemic now seems to touch every part of daily life. While we are monitoring this crisis as it changes by the hour, we are also preparing for the inevitable impact it will have on our elections – specifically the threat it poses to voter turnout, access to the polls, and ballot processing.

We are already witnessing significant disruptions to the campaign season – from state primaries delayed to suggestions to call off the parties' nominating conventions. In-person voting may also be at risk. Assisted living facilities are often used as polling sites – already necessitating last-minute relocations – and the majority of poll workers in 2016 were over the age of 60, raising concern of staffing shortages.

And most disruptive, voters may be unable to vote in person because of illness or even government-imposed travel restrictions.

Given these possibilities, we have to make it as easy as possible for eligible voters to vote by mail in 2020, and to prepare for a likely surge in absentee ballots.

In fact in most states – thirty-three and the District of Columbia – eligible voters can already vote by mail without an excuse. However, rules can vary significantly from state to state so it's important for this information to be publicized across sectors (from local governments to social media companies).

If you still need to cast your vote in the presidential primary, check this resource to see if you live in a state where it's still possible to apply to vote absentee, and what the requirements are to cast your ballot.

There's more we should do. We should demand universal access to voting by mail for all eligible voters. Elections officials should distribute absentee ballots to all eligible voters, or, at a minimum, eliminate unnecessary restrictions on when and how voters can request absentee ballots. States should eliminate laws that prohibit early processing of absentee ballots – so that states are able to report accurate results as early as possible. And we will fight to protect the rights of absentee voters, to make sure their ballots aren't rejected without notice based on minor technicalities.

ACLU Supporter, there is not much time left before the primaries are over – or the general in November. But these fixes could mitigate disruptions to our democracy caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and help ensure that every eligible voter can participate in November.

Learn more about your state's voting guidelines either on the ACLU's resource on in-mail voting or on vote.org, and contact your members of Congress about protecting our elections.

In the face of so much uncertainty and personal anxiety, we're grateful for activists like you staying vigilant – for both our public health and the future of our democracy. Thank you.

In solidarity,

Dale Ho
Director, ACLU Voting Rights Project

P.S. You can read more about this topic in the op-ed I wrote for the New York Times, published Thursday.