Plaintiffs seek 10-day deadline for November mail-in ballots

As part of another lawsuit challenging Indiana’s election laws, Common Cause Indiana and the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP are seeking a preliminary injunction to suspend the noon Election Day deadline for county officials to receive completed mail-in ballots.

The plaintiffs argue the deadline is “arbitrary and unjustified” and “constitutes a substantial and irreparable harm to the fundamental constitutional rights” of Indiana voters, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. They filed a motion Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, asking that Indiana be enjoined from enforcing the noon deadline.

“The noon Election Day deadline serves no purpose and threatens to disenfranchise tens of thousands of Hoosiers this fall,” said Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana. “An injunction is needed to protect Hoosier voters from being disenfranchised through no fault of their own and at the hands of an unnecessary administrative barrier.”

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson’s office declined to comment, saying it does not comment on pending litigation.

The case is Common Cause Indiana and Indiana State Conference of the NAACP v. Connie Lawson, et al., 1:20-cv-2007.

In addition to blocking the mail-in ballot deadline, plaintiffs are asking the court to require the counting of all ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up to 10 days afterward. The plaintiffs note Indiana already has procedures in place for tabulating ballots received after Election Day because it provides a 10-day window for provisional and mail-in ballots from overseas voters.

“While the early deadline risks depriving all Hoosiers of their right to vote, the risk of disenfranchisement is particularly pronounced for young voters and voters of color,” said Barbara Bolling-Williams, president of the NAACP Indiana State Conference. “We demand a secure, safe and accessible election.”

Currently, mail-in ballots must be received by noon on Election Day to be counted. Any ballots received after that time, even if the postmark shows the document was mailed in advance of the election, are not counted. Plaintiffs contend that the state has no valid reason for rejecting ballots received after 12 p.m. on Election Day and that Hoosiers’ right to vote is significantly burdened by the deadline.

Moreover, the plaintiffs contend, the changes in operating procedures at the U.S. Postal Service that include the elimination of overtime for postal workers and the reduction in mail processing equipment will exacerbate the risk of disenfranchisement.

According to the plaintiffs, nearly 550,000 Indiana voters requested mail-in ballots for the June 2, 2020, primary election, more than 10 times the number requested for the 2016 presidential primary.

However, delays in the delivery caused “thousands of otherwise valid ballots” to be rejected in the June primary because they arrived at county election offices after the noon deadline.

In Marion County, 1,514 ballots were rejected despite having been postmarked on or before June 2, according to the plaintiffs. Neighboring Hamilton County rejected 435 ballots.

“Defendants cannot assert any state interest sufficiently weighty to justify the burden on voters imposed by the Noon Election Day Receipt Deadline,” the plaintiffs argue. “First, the state has no interest in requiring receipt of mail-in ballots specifically by noon on Election Day. Accepting ballots received by noon while rejecting those received later in the day is arbitrary and unjustified by even the barest of administrative interests.”

The plaintiffs are being represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and Indianapolis attorneys William Groth of Macey Swanson LLP and Mark Sniderman of Findling Park Conyers Woody & Sniderman.

This is the third lawsuit currently challenging Indiana’s election laws in advance of the Nov. 3, 2020, general election.

Common Cause Indiana filed Common Cause Indiana v. Connie Lawson, et al., 1:20-cv-1825, in federal court in early July. The plaintiffs are seeking to overturn a state law that limits the recourse voters have to expand polling hours on Election Day.

Also, Indiana Vote by Mail filed a federal lawsuit, Tully, et al. v. Okeson, et al., 1:20-cv-1271, in April. The plaintiffs are pushing Indiana to offer no-excuse absentee balloting for the November election just as the state provided for the June primary.