Thursday, September 1, 2022

"The decision also dismisses several other claims the Republicans made"

"THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Tuesday dismissed the major constitutional challenge that has been levied against the new state law allowing voting by mail, formally addressing a legal question that has been hovering over attempts to expand the law for years. The court found that the Constitution, which lays out specific reasons why someone may vote absentee, does not prohibit the Legislature from expanding voting access beyond that. 

“Voting is a fundamental right, and nothing in [the Constitution] prohibits the Legislature, which has plenary constitutional powers, including broad powers to regulate the process of elections and even broader powers with respect to primaries, from enhancing voting opportunities,” Justice Scott Kafker wrote in a 61-page unanimous opinion. 

In June, the Legislature passed, and Gov. Charlie Baker signed, a law that authorizes early voting by mail for any voter without an excuse in all state elections, starting this year. Early voting by mail was first authorized as an emergency measure in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and voting rights advocates pointed to high turnout in the 2020 elections in urging lawmakers to adopt voting by mail permanently. But the Massachusetts Republican Party and other opponents worried that mail-in voting would be less secure and raised a host of other concerns."

Continue reading the article in CommonWealth Magazine 

You can read the full SJC decision online ->  https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2022/08/30/h13307.pdf


"The decision also dismisses several other claims the Republicans made"
"The decision also dismisses several other claims the Republicans made"

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