NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A judge has ruled that Tennessee must give all of its voters the option to cast ballots by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the state’s limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitute “an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution.”
Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office had said fear of catching or unwittingly spreading the virus at the polls wouldn’t qualify someone to vote by mail.
The state argued such an expansion wouldn’t be feasible for the 2020 elections.