Tennessee should offer all 4.1 million registered voters the option to vote by mail during a coronavirus pandemic, which prevails on Thursday.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle decided during the pandemic that the state’s absenteeism limits constituted “an unreasonable burden on the fundamental vote right secured by the Tennessee Constitution”. The judge wrote that any eligible voter could get a vote of absenteeism to avoid transferring or passing COVID-19 in “elections to be held during suspension of pandemic conditions”.

The decision is a decision by the State Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s fear that the fear of catching the virus in the ballot box or spreading it unintentionally will not be suitable for voting by mail. The state argued that for the 2020 elections, it would not be possible to claim such an expansion, among other concerns, the lack of money, staff and equipment to increase votes by mail.

The decision is that the state “sends a distinct post on their website and that voters who do not want to vote in person because of the COVID-19 virus status can request absenteeism by mail, or they still have the option to vote in person during the early voting or on Election Day. “

The judge wrote that the state took an “unhappy” attitude and was based on “strange distorted” assumptions, including assumptions that 100% of registered voters who violate their permits and industry standards would prepare for absenteeism. Meanwhile, eleven other states loosened voting with postal restrictions for the 2020 elections, taking “an approach they can”, while two-thirds of states have allowed them to vote for everyone for years.

“However, when using the normal assumptions accepted by the industry, the evidence reveals that if the State provides leadership and motivation like other states do, there are resources to provide temporary extended access to mail voting in Tennessee during the pandemic.” The judge wrote.

Hargett spokesman Julia Bruck is expected to appeal the fight. The Prosecutor’s Office detonated the court’s decision because it could not properly assess the “comprehensive security measures” in the province’s COVID-19 election plan.

“By replacing the legislation passed by the elected officials of the people with its own decision, it is another court decision that has largely ignored the practice of implementing such a decision, and that it does so in the midst of an epidemic and budget crisis,” Chief Prosecutor Herbert Slatery said. A statement.

In Tennessee, there are more than a dozen categories, with a candidate 60 years old or older, who are eligible to vote.

The Republican-led Legislative Assembly and the GOP Government Bill Lee rejected the idea of ​​voting for all voters, with more than a week vote against Democratic enlargement proposals, since lawmakers gathered during the pandemic periods.

Instead, state election officials proposed preparations such as 60 and older 1.4 million registered voters – about 1 out of every 3 registered voters – to issue ballot papers in the primary vote on August 6. The state stated that it historically saw less than 2.5% of the votes cast by post.

A number of denied states have been filed last month, including Texas, where a federal judge ordered an absentee vote for any voter in the pandemic.

Tennessee’s voter turnout was 14% in the August 2016 primary year, then almost 62% in the November 2016 general elections. In the 2018 non-presidential year, approximately 30% of registered voters came out for the primary year of August and 54% in the November elections.

Tennessee’s August elections will be another test example, as it tries to safely prepare for the autumn general elections highlighted by President Donald Trump’s re-election proposal, who is determined not to start voting absently during the US’s pandemic.

State court cases were conducted by # UpTheVote901 and the Tennessee American Civil Freedom Association.

Dale Ho, ACLU’s Voting Rights Director, said, “This is a big victory for the right to vote. “This decision eliminates the need for excuses for the 2020 elections, so they will not have to risk their health in order to vote.”

The Lawyers’ Civil Rights Committee under Law and the Campaign Legal Center also filed a similar federal lawsuit.