OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – A lawsuit by Oklahoma Democrats and a national committee challenges how voters will cast their ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Oklahoma Democratic Party filed the case May 18 in federal court against state election officials like Secretary of the Election Board Paul Ziriax.
The mode of voting at issue is absentee balloting. The Democrats are challenging what they say are unnecessarily burdensome notarization, witnessing and photo ID requirements.
They also challenge the state’s refusal to prepay for postage, rejection of absentee ballots delivered at 7 p.m. on Election Day and ban on organizations like the plaintiffs from collecting absentee ballots except in the case of incapacitated voters.
“(T)hese laws will operate independently and together to severely burden the right to vote of thousands of Oklahomans, in many cases resulting in complete disenfranchisement,” the lawsuit says.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma case number 4:20-cv-00211