We applaud federal Judge Geoffrey Crawford for dismissing a lawsuit intended to derail Vermont’s plan for universal mail-in voting this year.
It has been sad to see Republicans standing in the way of safe voting in Vermont at every turn this year. They voted against it in the legislature. The governor refused to sign off on the plan put forward by Secretary of State Condos. Finally, they took their case to court and lost.
From the president on down, the favorite argument of those opposing vote-by-mail is that it will lead to fraud. But this argument has been proven false time after time. In fact, the argument was so weak, the attorney for the plaintiffs in this case all but abandoned it in court.
The judge found other arguments put forward by the plaintiffs to be unconvincing as well. Responding to their claim that people may be too confused or burdened by the vote-by-mail system to participate, he wrote ‘Of all people likely to be confused about how to vote, these five plaintiffs must be last on the list.’
In the end, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue the case.
This is a victory for all Vermonters who simply want a safe and secure means of voting this year. For most people, voting from home using a ballot that will arrive at their doorstep in the next week or so, will be the safest and easiest way to participate in the most important election of their lifetime.
Read the full dismissal order here.