Louisiana's Covid test proposal would exclude 'thousands' from mail-in voting

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Louisiana’s Covid test proposal would exclude 'thousands' from mail-in voting

Election official wants to require a positive diagnosis for mail-in voters despite lags in testing

Sam Levine
Tue 18 Aug 2020 21.14 BST

In an unprecedented move, Louisiana’s top election official wants to require a positive Covid-19 test if a voter wants to vote absentee over concerns about the virus. This comes amid a lack of consistent access to testing in the state.

Louisiana is one of seven states that will still require an excuse to vote by mail this year, only allowing absentee voting if a voter is aged 65 or older or meets certain other conditions such as temporary absence from their county or hospitalization.

For its elections in July and August, Louisiana eased those restrictions for voters at risk of developing complications from Covid-19 or who had potential exposure to the virus. But under secretary of state Kyle Ardoin’s proposal for the state’s November and December elections released Monday, those accommodations won’t apply. Instead, a voter would need to test positive for Covid-19 between the end of early voting and election day, currently a week-long period to use the hospitalization excuse to request a mail-in ballot.

The proposal from Ardoin, a Republican, comes as Louisiana has seen lags in testing, meaning a voter could get tested and not have their results in time to be able to request a mail-in ballot. Louisiana has seen 138,485 cases of Covid-19 and 4,526 deaths so far. In April, African Americans accounted for 70% of Covid-19 deaths in the state.

The proposal would exclude “thousands” of eligible Louisiana voters from being able to vote by mail and ignores the limited availability of testing, said Zachery Morris, an attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which is suing the state over its preparations in November.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/18/louisiana-election-proposal-positive-covid-test-mail-in-voting

[Phoenix61]

1. Forcing people to disclose HIPPA protected

information to exercise their constitutional right to vote is a new low.

[Mike 03]

2. BULLSHIT! I thought this was The Onion!

They want to vote by mail so they DON'T get the virus.

People who've had the virus (and recovered) don't need to worry as much.

What criminal idiocy!

Am I reading this wrong?

Louisiana’s top election official wants to require a positive Covid-19 test if a voter wants to vote absentee over concerns about the virus

[Iliyah]

3. This does not sound right . . .,

File suit, this is bullshit.

Americans do have choices, and it's nobody's business what choice they make. Voting by mail or in person is a right.

[LisaL]

8. yes, totally ridiculous.

[joho260]

4. So...fib

Say that you will be out of state on election day; get your absentee ballot and send it in. Oops, my plans changed but it's too late now!

[Hoyt]

5. Apparently, the "plan" has to be approved by legislature and then approved by Democratic Governor.

[appalachiablue]

6. Unbelievable, rotten

[LisaL]

7. This makes no sense.

If you are already infected, it's too late to be concerned about getting the virus. And does he wants covid positive people to vote in person?