Collins v. Adams

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky legislature decided to give the Secretary of State, the Governor, and the Board of Elections the flexibility to relax existing harsh voting requirements for the primary elections through a new set of guidelines. These new guidelines moved the date of the primary election back and allowed all eligible voters to apply to vote via mail-in absentee ballot by removing the excuse requirement for the primary election.

However, after overriding Governor Beshear’s veto in April 2020, the Kentucky legislature passed a new law reinforcing the strict excuse requirement for the November general election, which did not allow voters to cite fear of COVID-19 to obtain an absentee ballot.

The bill added a new photo ID requirement to vote in person and to obtain an absentee ballot. Voters who did not possess a photo ID were required to vote or apply for an absentee ballot in person with a non-photo ID document and complete a voter affirmation form with an election officer present. Voters were required to affirm that they met an impediment requirement that prevented them from obtaining a photo ID, which did not allow voters to cite COVID-19. The League of Women Voters of Kentucky (“LWV of Kentucky”) sued because those requirements forced voters to choose between voting and their health.

On May 27, 2020, LWV of Kentucky, along with the Louisville Urban League, the Kentucky Conference of NAACP Branches, and seven individual plaintiffs, sued Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Chairman of the Kentucky Board of Elections Albert Benjamin Chandler III. The plaintiffs alleged that Kentucky’s laws unreasonably burdened Kentucky voters’ fundamental right to vote under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs argued that Kentucky’s excuse requirement for absentee voting subjected voters to unreasonable health risks without a legitimate state interest. In particular, voters with underlying medical conditions, Black voters, older voters, and voters with certain disabilities faced increased health risks from the pandemic and therefore were forced to choose between their vote and their health. Additionally, the plaintiffs pointed out that Kentucky acknowledged the health risks posed by COVID-19 by easing the excuse requirement for the June 23, 2020, primary but failed to fully relieve the burden on voters by easing the requirements for the November general election.

Furthermore, the plaintiffs argued that the photo ID requirement enacted in April 2020 created unreasonable burdens on voters and their health that outweighed the state’s interest in enforcing the law. At the time, Kentucky had closed all but one of the statewide driver’s license issuance locations due to COVID-19 concerns. The plaintiffs argued that when the locations reopened, they would be required to handle an increased demand for licenses under reduced capacity. Moreover, the plaintiffs argued that the photo ID requirement for absentee ballots was irrelevant because there was no way for state election officials to verify the photo ID without comparing the voter’s face in person, and a separate process existed to confirm an absentee voter’s identity. The plaintiffs also argued that even if a voter had a photo ID, the requirement that they send a photocopy potentially forced them to risk their health by going to a public business or library, many of which were also closed. The plaintiffs reiterated that if a voter did not send a photocopy of their photo ID with their absentee ballot application, then they would either sacrifice their vote or be forced to vote in person despite the health risks.

The plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on July 10, 2020, to block the laws ahead of the general election on November 3, 2020. Before the court ruled on the motion for a preliminary injunction, the parties entered into settlement negotiations and, after several months, agreed to settle out of court.

On August 14, 2020, Kentucky Secretary of State Adams and Governor Beshear announced new procedures for voting in the November general election. As part of those new guidelines, voters could cite fear of contracting COVID-19 as a valid excuse to request an absentee ballot. The photo ID requirement was also dropped for those who could not obtain one due to COVID-19. Additionally, early voting would begin three weeks before Election Day without a required excuse from voters and would include increased availability of secure ballot drop boxes. The court then signed off on a joint stipulation of dismissal on September 1, 2020.

The League was represented in this matter by Covington Burling, LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.