Coronavirus Class Action Says Ballot Postage Requirement Constitutes Poll Tax

A Georgia class action lawsuit claims that the postage required to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic constitutes a poll tax.

Plaintiffs the Black Voters Fund and voter Megan Gordon claim that the current COVID-19 outbreak makes in-mail voting the go-to method for voters who do not want to risk exposing themselves to the virus at polling stations.

According to the coronavirus class action, Georgia voters who decide to mail in their votes are required to provide their own postage.

The organization and the voter claims that this effectively functions as a poll tax, and is therefore a violation of the Constitution. They assert that, because mailing in votes is becoming a critical way for voters to get their voices heard during this pandemic, now is the time to address this unconstitutional element in Georgia’s voting system.

The voting class action stresses that charging a poll tax in any form of voting is unconstitutional, even if there are other forms of voting available that do not charge a poll tax.

The plaintiffs note that free options are, under normal circumstances, are inaccessible to some voters who are disabled, elderly, or away from their homes during the elections. The lawsuit argues that, during the coronavirus crisis, these other free options are even less viable for the majority of the population, as people try to adhere to drastic social distancing measures to protect themselves and others.

The Georgia poll tax class action lawsuit asserts that by circumstance, many people are trapped into paying the poll tax of postage. Allegedly, though this fee is negligible to wealthy and middle class voters, it can put real financial strain on economically disadvantaged voters.

Moving on to explain the stakes of charging postage, the plaintiffs note that these economically disadvantaged voters are already marginalized by their economic position, and to prevent them from voting or to require them to endure financial hardship to vote would further marginalize them. 

The Black Voters Matter Fund and Gordon explains that marginalized voters often come from communities who, over the course of American history, have been hit with more than 100 years of racist voter suppression. One form of voter suppression is, in the eyes of Gordon and the fund, the poll tax allegedly used by Georgia. 

Stressing that voter disenfranchisement and economic disparity is a burden felt disproportionately by African American voters opposed white ones, Gordon and the fund explain that their voting class action lawsuit “is about voters who have always voted in-person to honor their Black ancestors who have fought and died for the right to vote, but now cannot.” 

They move on to discuss the myriad burdens placed on all economically disadvantaged voters, explaining that for someone struggling to make ends meet, both in-person voting and the seemingly more convenient option of mailing in a vote are burdensome.

Saying “this case is about voters who live on a shoestring budget and lack access to resources such as time, money, and transportation that wealthier people take for granted,” the plaintiffs explain that voters who wish to vote in-person must take time away from work or obligations, and pay for transportation to a polling station.

The plaintiffs also note that, with Georgia’s poll tax, voters who wish to vote by mail must pay for postage. 

To make voting more accessible in the current pandemic and in all other circumstances, the Black Voters Matter Fund and Gordon seek declaratory relief and a permanent injunction requiring the state to provide prepaid postage on returnable envelopes for absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications.

Allegedly, the state already knows how to do this, because the law requires the state to provide the public with prepaid postage envelopes for other purposes. 

To protect voters in the short-term, Gordon and the fund ask the court to grant a preliminary injunction ensuring that voters do not have to pay postage in this year’s elections — in particular, they ask that the injunction apply to the November primary election.

Have you voted by mail? Share why you chose to do so in the comments below.

The Black Voters Matter Fund and Megan Gordon are represented by Sean Young, Sophia Lin Lakin and Dale E. Ho of American Civil Liberties Union.

The Georgia Mail-In Voting Postage Class Action Lawsuit is Black Voters Matter Fund, et al. v. Brad Raffensperger, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01489-AT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. 

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