ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected an argument that requiring voters to provide their own stamps for mail-in ballots and ballot applications amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax.
A lawsuit filed in April by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Georgia chapter alleged that the postage requirement effectively imposes a poll tax and is an unjustifiable burden on the right to vote. The challenge was brought on behalf of voters and a group seeking to empower communities of color, the Black Votes Matter Fund.
The lawsuit asked a judge to find the requirement unconstitutional and to order the state to stop requiring voters to provide their own stamps to vote by mail-in ballot.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta had already declined to order the state to provide postage-paid envelopes for the June primary and Tuesday’s primary runoff election. But she had held off on making a decision about the November general election and said she reviewed additional filings from the parties in the meantime.
While voters can still cast ballots in person early or on Election Day, the lawsuit argues that the option of in-person voting “does not really exist because of the pandemic” and is also nearly impossible for some elderly or disabled voters. Some voters don’t have stamps on hand and can’t get to the post office or don’t want to go there and risk exposure to coronavirus, the lawsuit says, adding those voters may also lack internet access or credit cards to buy stamps online.