MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s been a no legal tears Thursday for University of Memphis law professor Steve Mulroy.
Sure, he had been working with the ACLU to allow people who were afraid of getting COVID-19 to vote by absentee. He won that fight.
But the Tennessee State Supreme Court says the pandemic paranoia won’t cut the mustard in November.
Fear of contracting the disease is not an acceptable reason for absentee voting.
“Actually,” according to Mulroy, “... the important thing here is anybody with an underlying medical condition, or who’s a caretaker, will be able to vote absentee in November, thanks to the court decision, which had not been true before.”
Mulroy says a lot of people are overlooking this section of the ruling, focusing more on how fear of COVID-19 will not be allowed as a reason to absentee vote in November.
He says, “When you have all the people in Tennessee, who have hypertension, diabetes, obesity, smoking, cancer, or they are caretakers - a substantial majority of Tennessee voters will be able to vote absentee in November.”
