Mass. Voter Registration Deadline Unconstitutional, Class Action Says

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts has filed a class action lawsuit claiming the state’s voter registration deadline is unconstitutional and disenfranchises eligible voters, according to the Boston Globe.

The ACLU takes issue with the state’s Oct. 19 voter registration deadline, which is nearly three weeks before the presidential election.

The ACLU calls this registration cutoff “arbitrary,” especially given the state’s new early-voting rules which allow anyone registered by the Oct. 19 deadline to vote just five days later.

“The 20-day deadline is arbitrary,” says Rahsaan Hall, the director of the ACLU of Massachusetts Racial Justice Program. “We’re asking the court to declare the 20-day voter cutoff law unconstitutional and allow our named plaintiffs to vote in this election.”

The ACLU lawsuit says that the state’s constitution does not impose a deadline for voter registration, but notes that courts have determined that voter registration deadlines are appropriate as long as they are “as close to the actual election as possible.”

According to the voter registration class action, at least 14 states allow people to register to vote on Election Day. The ACLU notes that other states have voter registration deadlines that require voters to register even further in advance than Massachusetts’ 20-day deadline.

However, the ACLU claims that there is no reason to justify the requirement in the state. Given the technology available today, voter registrations can be processed much more quickly than 20 days, the ACLU argues.

Further, this arbitrary deadline occurs just as the most serious get-out-the vote efforts gain momentum, the ACLU says. In the three weeks before the election, the candidates are making their final push to encourage voters to get out and vote for them.

Media coverage also increases in the weeks leading up to the election, and many people become motivated to vote as a result. The 20-day deadline prevents these unregistered voters from participating in the election and should be declared unconstitutional, the ACLU argues.

There are many reasons eligible residents may fail to register to vote before the 20-day voter registration deadline. Some Massachusetts residents have complained that their work schedule makes it hard for them to register to vote during regular business hours.

Plaintiff Edma Ortiz says she had a death in the family and had to travel out of state before she had a chance to register to vote. When she attempted to register on Oct. 20, she was told she had missed the deadline and would not be able to register.

Plaintiff Rafael Sanchez claims he did not know about the voter registration deadline until he heard about it on Oct. 20, but at that point it was too late for him to register.

Plaintiff Wilyeliz Nazario Leon recently moved to Massachusetts but “was completely unaware” that she was up against a deadline to register to vote in the state.

The voter registration class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of MassVote, the Chelsea Collaborative, and three voters who are registered in Massachusetts.

MassVote and the Chelsea Collaborative are non-profit organizations focused on mobilizing voters in underrepresented communities.

The ACLU lawsuit seeks to have the voter registration law declared unconstitutional and to allow the voter plaintiffs to vote in next week’s presidential election.