Tennessee became one of the last states to expand mail-in voting earlier this month when Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that voters under 60 can request an absentee ballot because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lyle’s ruling has been appealed by the state of Tennessee, but the Supreme Court said earlier this month it won’t consider the appeal in time for the August election.
That means voters in all 95 counties can request an absentee ballot, at least for that election.
Tennessee was one of a vast majority of states that had strict rules for requesting an absentee ballot before the pandemic hit. Voters had to be 60 or older, in the military or living out of town to make such a request. Additionally, voters with a medical condition that essentially left them bedridden could request a ballot.
When the pandemic hit, several voters under 60 with medical conditions that make them susceptible to coronavirus sued the state to expand absentee voting. The state argued that such expansion of absentee voting was logistically impossible and that mail-in voting is prone to fraud.
Lyle ruled that fear of the virus was a good enough reason to request a ballot. When the state posted a confusing absentee request form on its site, Lyle responded by changing the language on the request form to clearly state the COVID-19 pandemic is the reason voters are making the request.
The state appealed Lyle’s ruling, but the appeal won’t be considered until later this month. That means voters are allowed to request an absentee ballot from the county election commissions for the August election.