https://forums.roadbikereview.com/politics-only/church-universal-suffrage-373529.html
The Church of Universal Suffrage
Tennessee, a state run by Republicans, doesn’t want to make it easier for everyone to vote.
Unlike some states that are sending out absentee ballots to all registered voters in light of the pandemic, Tennessee officials require residents to give a reason if they want an absentee ballot. Maybe they’re older, or have a disability, or decided it’s “impossible or unreasonable” to vote in person due to COVID. But if you’re someone who just wants to vote early, that doesn’t work.
Why do all that? Perhaps because Republicans are worried that making voting easier will benefit Democrats. (Which isn’t even true.) The hurdle of requiring an excuse would disproportionately affect people who can’t take the day off work, or who don’t have cars, or who are more likely to have something come up unexpectedly on Election Day. If you believe those people are more likely to vote for Democrats, then there’s an incentive to keep this particular hurdle in place.
But one 27-year-old man is now using a loophole in the law to make it easier for any Tennessee citizen to obtain an absentee ballot and vote early.
State law says one reason you may obtain an absentee ballot is if “You are observing a religious holiday that prevents you from voting in person during the early voting period and on Election Day.”
So if there was a religion that simply declared Election Day — for any election — a holiday, it would serve as a legitimate reason to request a ballot no matter who you are…
Introducing: The Church of Universal Suffrage, an officially registered non-profit religious organization that exists purely to circumvent Republican voter suppression in Tennessee.
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