As residents in many states begin voting, a new round of legal skirmishes is emerging over rules for casting ballots, a potential harbinger of disputes to come. In Texas, voting-rights advocates have urged state officials to address reports that several counties opened the state’s early voting period on Oct. 24 with incorrect signs indicating that voters must show photo identification to cast a ballot. A court order issued in August required the state to make exceptions for people who couldn’t reasonably obtain one of the types of ID the state required. Some locations have acknowledged making initial errors. “There’s no excuse for that, and I own up to it,” said elections administrator Jacquelyn Callanen in Bexar County, home to the city of San Antonio.
Ms. Callanen said her staff had received three different versions of the signs in three months, and the outdated ones were displayed at some early voting sites. The signs have been fixed, she said. “I don’t think it was intentional,” said Lannie Noble, the administrator in Denton County, where the wrong signs were also spotted in at least a couple of places. “We didn’t get a whole lot of notice when the court did what it did.”
This year has already seen legal showdowns in several potentially important states on issues such as voter-identification requirements, early voting days, registration deadlines and the restoration of voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences.
It is possible more cases could arise as Election Day approaches, given this year’s highly charged presidential contest.
Full Article: Legal Skirmishes Erupt Over Voting Rules as Election Day Nears – WSJ.