NAACP Archives - Missourinet

Missouri Supreme Court: There is no constitutional right to absentee or mail-in voting

October 9, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

The case involced concerns about registered Missouri voters’ ability to vote amidst the ongoing public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Missouri Supreme Court rejected the arguments of voting rights groups that voters who are afraid of contracting COVID-19 at the polls should not have to get a notary public to sign their mail-in ballots. The Missouri Conference of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, and two citizens appealed that “The trial court erroneously upheld a notarization requirement that imposes myriad burdens on Missouri citizens seeking to vote during a global pandemic.” Full story on arguments in this case.

A majority of the judges concurred that there is no constitutional right to absentee or mail-in voting and that the state law allowing voters who expect to be confined “due to illness” to cast an absentee ballot without notarization extends only to those who are ill. The opinion also says the state had actually extended voting options during the pandemic.

Read the official decision here.

The ACLU of Missouri, which assisted in arguing the case before the state’s high court, issued this statement after the ruling:

Today’s mixed opinions from the Missouri Supreme Court make clear what we have said from the start: Missouri voters get to decide for themselves whether they are eligible to vote absentee without a notary during COVID-19. It is reasonable for any voter to expect now that she might have to stay away from the polls on election day because she will have contracted or been exposed to the virus. That is enough to apply for an absentee ballot under the “confinement-due-to-illness” provision.

State Supreme Court hears lawsuit about expanded absentee voting this year

June 16, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The state Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit designed to let all Missouri voters cast a vote by mail this year without a notarized signature. Under a bill signed into law this month by Gov. Mike Parson, Missouri voters can vote absentee during this year’s August and November elections only, but some are required to get a notary.

State Supreme Court hears lawsuit about expanded absentee voting this year

Those who have contracted or are at-risk of getting COVID-19 can cast an absentee ballot without notarization. All other voters can mail in their ballot without an excuse, but they must submit a notarized statement.

During oral arguments Tuesday, Sophia Lin Lakin, who is representing the NAACP, says requiring some voters to get a notary could put their health and the health of others at risk during the coronavirus pandemic.

“SB 631 still requires voters whom the Legislature did not deem at-risk for covid or those caring for others who may be at risk, to comply with the notary requirement in order to vote by mail,” she says.

Assistant Missouri Attorney General D. John Sauer fired back.

“A bad flu season does involve tens of thousands of deaths nationwide. But nobody has ever contended that fear of contracting or spreading the flu is a statutory ground to cast an absentee ballot in Missouri,” says Sauer.

Lakin says the state already allows voters to cast an absentee ballot without a notary for multiple reasons.

“The sky hasn’t fallen and there is no indication that it would so here either,” she says.

The NAACP appealed its case to the high court after Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetum dismissed the case in May. In Beetum’s decision, he said the group wants widespread absentee voting for all future elections regardless of whether COVID-19 is still around.

The court could rule at any time. Beginning June 23, local election officials are scheduled to send absentee ballots for the August primary election.

To view the arguments, click here.