NAACP Says in Suit Minnesota Should Send Ballots to All Voters

(Bloomberg) -- Minnesota’s top election official is being sued by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which said it is seeking to expand and improve the use mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

The suit against Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon seeks to have absentee ballots sent to all registered voters for the August primary and the November general election, according to a statement Friday from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the group. The group also is demanding the state suspend a requirement that voters must get a witness to sign their ballot envelope.

The suit, filed in state court in St. Paul, alleges that the witness requirement and lack of universal absentee ballots could result in thousands of people losing their right to vote because they can’t risk contact with others vote in person or get a witness signature on their absentee ballot.

“Removing the witness requirement and providing absentee ballots to registered voters during Covid-19 will protect Minnesotans’ health and their right to vote,” Theresa Lee, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in the statement. “These are sensible solutions.”

The press office for Simon, a Democrat, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.

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