A coalition of doctors and professors of epidemiology have filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge lodged by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the League of Women Voters against the state’s requirement that absentee ballots be notarized.
“Voters have strong reasons to self-isolate and avoid the risks of spreading or catching the virus,” wrote attorney Michael A. Wolff in the Oct. 5 ‘friend of the court’ brief. “Allowing voting by absentee ballot without notarization would be a much safer option for public health than forcing voters to either forego their right to vote or to risk their and the public’s health by voting in person or going to a notary.”
Wolff is a former Missouri Supreme Court judge, chief justice, and professor and dean emeritus of Saint Louis University Law School.
The coalition of doctors and professors includes representatives from the Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Saint Louis University's College for Public Health and Social Justice, according to media reports.
“Their interest is only in informing the court about the medical facts and they believe that caution needs to be exercised when doing public things,” Wolff told the St. Louis Record.
The Missouri Supreme Court is reviewing on appeal Cole County Judge Jon Beetem’s decision to deny the voting rights groups an injunction to stop notarization voting legislation.
“If you have to get a notary, that makes it harder for people to vote,” Wolff said in an interview. “I think there are other ways of making sure that you've got the right voter and they are issues that need to be explored. Conscientious election authorities are already exploring them.”
The legislation, Senate Bill 631, was approved by the Missouri legislature on the final day of session in May and signed by Gov. Mike Parson.
“If people don't feel safe when they are casting a vote, they won't do it,” Wolff added. “So, what that means is that fewer people will vote and we'll have less of a democracy than we would have if we weren't dealing with this.”
The state argued in its Oct. 2 brief that voting is safe in Missouri and that grave health risks cited by the voting rights groups were not realized in the recent primary election.
“Plaintiffs have failed to identify any known instance of transmission of COVID-19 during an in-person notarization, whether in Missouri or elsewhere even after thousands of ballot notarizations during Missouri’s August 2020 primary,” wrote John Sauer on behalf of the Missouri Attorney General’s office in his 120-page pleading. “And Appellants concede that ordinary precautions like social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand hygiene—all of which are routinely and easily followed during notarizations—are ‘consistently effective' in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”