-The threat we face from the COVID-19 virus
is an unprecedented threat and unlike any we have faced.
Today, I have certified that a state of emergency exists
and requested that the governor issue
an executive order postponing the elections.
-News tonight at 9:00.
Georgia's presidential primaries postponed
because of fears over the coronavirus.
-Until this slows, until we can make sure that we can,
as they're saying, flatten the curve,
it is, frankly, irresponsible to have events,
elections included, where you are putting --
You're putting people in close proximity.
-We're in the middle of primary season.
So, there are limits to what states can do
to combat the challenges faced by coronavirus now.
But there's no excuse for states
to not be prepared for the general election.
My name is Marc Elias.
I chair the Political Law practice at Perkins Coie
in Washington, D. C.
I am currently social distancing at home with my dog,
Bode, who's right here.
Say "hello," Bode.
Hello, Bode.
Number one, making sure that every voter cast their ballot
and has it postmarked on election day --
on or before election day has it counted.
Number two, that we don't disqualify ballots
and disenfranchise voters
based on the junk science of signature matching.
And, number three, that we ensure
that voters have the opportunity
to have assistance in the delivery of their sealed
and completed mail ballots.
States need to, first and foremost,
build the infrastructure to print and mail ballots.
But beyond that, there are a lot of hidden barriers
to voting built into vote by mail
that don't always get the attention that they deserve.
Congress should step in here
with some minimum protections of voters,
starting with a law that says
that if you cast your ballot by mail on
or before the close of polls on election day,
that ballot counts.
And it doesn't matter whether that ballot is delivered
by the mail service that day, the next day,
or three or four days later.
If you voted on election day, then your ballot counts.
Congress should be incentivizing states to move to vote by mail.
For example, Congress should mandate
that all mail ballots or absentee ballots
that go through the postal system
go through with free postage.
Congress could provide a mandate to states
that they allow vote by mail.
And, finally, Congress should do something
with respect to the disqualification of ballots.
Most people don't realize that when they vote by mail
or vote absentee
and they sign the outer envelope,
their signature is then compared with the signature
that the state or county has on file for that individual.
And if, in the opinion of the worker,
those signatures don't match, very oftentimes,
those ballots are discarded and not counted.
In many states, the voter is not even told
that their ballot is not counted
and given an opportunity to contest it or to fix it.
In 2018, 68,000 Americans had their ballots not count
as a result of rejection due to signature mismatch.
And I think we can all agree there is no chance
there were 68,000 Americans
whose ballots had forged signatures.
The final barrier that needs to be tackled
by state legislatures in advance deals with laws
that restrict the assistance or the collection and delivery
of completed and sealed absentee ballots.
We're not talking about unsealed ballots.
We're talking about people who either
because they don't want to go outside
and are engaged in preventative steps,
social distance, or whether they're ill or infirmed
or whether they live in communities
where delivering ballots is inconvenient,
and so they oftentimes rely on community organizations
or friends or informal networks
to collect completed absentee ballots
and have them delivered to the appropriate post office
or election site.
And many states have outlawed that.
And the lack of confidence that all of those things
have instilled in some populations in the country.
It's more important than ever,
as we head towards the 2020 general election,
that the American people have confidence
that the voting system is open and fair
and that every citizen who is lawfully eligible
to cast a ballot is able to cast it
and have it counted and counted accurately.
What about the general election?
Will states be moving that?
And the answer is "no."
The federal Election Day for the general election
is set by statute.
There is no power of a governor or a state to change that.
There is no power for the President
of the United States to change that.
Federal Election Day will take place on the Tuesday
following the first Monday in November.
Unless and until Congress changed that law
and the president signed it, there is no reason to believe
Congress is going to change Election Day.
So we will have the general election, as scheduled,
on Election Day, period.