Michigan Votes Will Count Even If Received Two Weeks Late
USPS Settles Colorado Suit Over ‘False’ Voting Post Cards
(Bloomberg) -- A Michigan judge ruled that mail-in ballots sent on time in the swing state can be counted for two weeks after Election Day, while the U.S. Postal Service settled a lawsuit brought by Colorado election officials over “false” notices the agency sent out about mail-in voting.
In a victory for Democrats, a Michigan state court ruled on Friday that without an extension, delays in mail delivery could disenfranchise voters who are increasingly turning to mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. Ballots must still be postmarked by Nov. 2, the day before the election.
The evidence “establishes that the mail system is currently fraught with delays and uncertainty in light of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Judge Cynthia Stephens wrote. The risk of disenfranchisement “is very real,” she said.
Stephens rejected concerns voiced by Republicans across the U.S. that mail-in voting would lead to rampant fraud, saying they hadn’t produced evidence, including from the state’s May primary “in which nearly all ballots were cast by mail or at a ballot drop-box.”
“The documentary evidence in this case reveals that the incidences of voter fraud and absentee ballot fraud are minimal and that the fears of the same are largely exaggerated,” the judge said.
She also ruled that the state’s ban on third-party delivery of signed ballots should be lifted temporarily starting the Friday before Election Day, allowing voters to choose anyone they want to take their ballot for them during that period. The change, which applies only to the 2020 election, is necessary because of the pandemic, especially for elderly voters, she said.
In a separate Michigan case, a federal judge on Thursday issued an injunction against the state’s ban on transporting voters to the polls, handing another victory to Democrats.
In Colorado, the USPS agreed to destroy hundreds of thousands of postcards about mail-in voting that hadn’t been sent yet, to resolve a lawsuit claiming the notices were false and misleading. The USPS also agreed to work with officials in the state on the rest of its election media campaign.
A copy of the settlement agreement was filed late Thursday in federal court in Denver by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat. It resolves a dispute over postcards that instructed voters to request mail-in ballots, which Colorado said would disrupt the election and confuse voters because the state is automatically sending out ballots.
Colorado voters could help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. First-term Republican Cory Gardner is pitted against former governor John Hickenlooper in one of the most crucial races in the Democrats’ campaign to flip the Senate.
The accord comes less than a day after a judge blocked disruptive operational changes at the USPS instituted by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, including a ban on overtime and the removal of hundreds of mail-sorting machines. More than a dozen states had sued, claiming the changes were part of a politically motivated attempt to undermine mail-in voting.
Under the agreement, the USPS will seek input from Griswold on any future changes to its website on voting information “that could aid in avoiding voter confusion relating to use of the mails for voting in Colorado.”
The agency also agreed to alert Colorado officials in advance to details of its multi-part media campaign about the election, including on television and radio, in print and in other media.
The case is State of Colorado v. DeJoy; 20-cv-02768, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (Denver).
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