NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee officials are seeking a fast-tracked decision by the state Supreme Court to block the absentee-voting option for all eligible voters that a judge has ordered during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tennessee attorney general’s office filed the motion Friday evening, saying it’s crucial with the Aug. 6 primary election looming for the Supreme Court to take over the appeal and the state’s request to stop the expansion. A lower appellate court hasn’t ruled on the appeal yet, which the state also filed Friday.
A Nashville judge, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle, ordered the expansion earlier this month. Last week, she told state officials “shame on you” for not abiding by her order when the state decided to reword its absentee voting applications on its own and hold off on sending absentee applications related to COVID-19 for most of the day after the initial ruling. The state has since reworked the form and sent local officials updated guidance based on the judge’s new order.
State election officials have opposed the expansion, instead recommending preparations as though all 1.4 million registered voters 60 and older will cast mail-in ballots in the primary.
More than a dozen categories of registered voters can typically cast absentee ballots in Tennessee, from all those 60 and over to people who are ill.