Court rejects request to expand mail-in balloting in Indiana

A group of three judges for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana that Indiana's mail-in balloting rules are not unconstitutional, according to IndyStar. 

The state's absentee mail-in voting rules allow people to vote by mail for certain reasons, some of which include that the person is at least 65 years old or has a disability.

"In the upcoming election, all Hoosiers, including Plaintiffs, can vote on election day, or during the early-voting period, at polling places all over Indiana," 7th Circuit Judge Michael Stephen Kanne, who was part of the panel, reportedly wrote. "The court recognizes the difficulties that might accompany in-person voting during this time. But Indiana's absentee-voting laws are not to blame. It's the pandemic, not the State, that might affect Plaintiffs' determination to cast a ballot."

Mail-in voting is expected to play a prominent role during the 2020 general election as the country contends with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group Indiana Vote By Mail, which was involved in the lawsuit, issued a statement expressing displeasure about the court's decision.

"Indiana Vote By Mail is disappointed in the 7th Circuit's decision to not extend the option to vote by absentee ballot to all voters in the State, especially during the pandemic," the group wrote. "Yesterday's ruling is the latest in a growing number of federal court decisions in which judges have refused to acknowledge the substantial burdens imposed on voters by the pandemic or require the states to make adjustments in state election laws to alleviate those burdens and increase accessibility to the voting process. The opinion blames the pandemic and ignores the fact that the Constitution and Indiana's elected officials may and should protect Hoosiers, instead of endangering them."