Missouri judge releases decision, denying motion for mail-in voting

Cole County Judge Jon Beetem denied the motion for a preliminary injunction sought by the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, according to reporting by Jefferson City News-Tribune.

The motion brought forward by the two groups would have immediately made it easier for Missourians to vote with a mail-in ballot during the coronavirus pandemic, as the lawsuit sought to allow all Missourians to cast absentee ballots without notarization in 2020, reports the Associated Press.

Those in favor of a non-notarized option wonder how voting will work as many local and county governments have renewed social distancing restrictions on the public.

Under a new law, people considered at-risk of the coronavirus — those age 65 and older, living in a long-term care facility or with certain existing health problems — can vote absentee without having their ballot notarized, reports the Associated Press.

On Friday, Beetem wrote that the groups presented no new arguments saying, “Absent evidence that the ‘consistently effective social distancing and related strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19’ could not be employed in the notary circumstances, the court concludes that plaintiffs have not made a convincing showing of irreparable harm from the notarization requirement for mail-in ballots.”