Democracy works best when citizens can vote without barriers.

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John, we achieved a big win for absentee voting!

In response to a CLC lawsuit, the state of Minnesota will allow voters to cast absentee ballots without needing the signature of a witness, for the state’s August primary. Minnesota's witness signature requirement was threatening the voting rights of many Minnesota voters practicing social distancing, and the state already has several safeguards to verify absentee ballots.

This victory addresses a significant barrier to safe absentee voting in the Minnesota primary.

This win will help Minnesotans like our client Vivian Latimer Tanniehill, a senior citizen who feared contracting COVID-19 if she had to seek a witness just to exercise her right to vote.

Read Vivian's story ([link removed]) and learn more about how states can protect voter access during the pandemic. ([link removed])
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Because of COVID-19, it is critical to American democracy and to protect public health that all voters have the option to vote absentee.

No voter should have to choose between risking their health and exercising their right to vote.

In Minnesota, voters would have had to fill out their ballot in the physical presence of a witness that would have needed to sign a certificate. Only a registered Minnesota voter, a notary or another person authorized to administer oaths could have played this role.

This witness requirement was inconsistent with social distancing protocol; it was untenable this year, so we sued.

Now, Minnesota has agreed not to enforce its witness requirement for the August primary elections, and the state will take steps to educate the public about this change.

This agreement is a win for voters because it shows that a state can meet three goals at the same time: protecting the right to vote, promoting public health during a pandemic and maintaining the integrity of the state’s elections.

Other states still need to take action to improve absentee voting during the pandemic. In total, 12 states have witness requirements—two others have voluntarily waived or modified them due to COVID-19, and South Carolina was recently ordered by a court to suspend its witness requirement for its June primary.

Additionally, voters still face barriers in other states such as strict excuse requirements ([link removed]) for absentee voting and flawed signature match systems ([link removed]) that disenfranchise absentee voters without notice.

Learn more about how states can protect voter access during the pandemic. ([link removed])

We CAN hold safe, secure elections amid COVID-19. But states need to act now.

Onward,

Danielle Lang
CLC Co-Director, Voting Rights & Redistricting

P.S. You can read more about today’s victory in Minnesota on our website. ([link removed]) We also achieved an exciting victory today for absentee voting in New Jersey. Read about it here. ([link removed])
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