18July 2020
The American Civil Liberties Union claims Flint voters might be rejected their right to vote absentee in the August primary. The ACLU fit finds fault with how the Flint city clerk's workplace procedures absentee ballot applications and other concerns. Lawyer Alec Gibbs states, if these problems are not remedied, it could affect Flint voters ‘ability to participate
in August's main and November's general election.”I tremble at this,”states Gibbs. “We might be speaking about 10s of countless citizens losing their right to vote.”But in a July 7 letter,
Flint City Clerk Inez Brown calls the allegations in the suit”unwarranted.”The city clerk's workplace has been closed given that March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However in a court filing, the city of Flint says the city clerk's workplace will be open on Monday to help people requiring assist with their ballots. The city has also put a drop box outdoors town hall for absentee ballots. According to the Secretary of State's office, around 7,500 absentee tally applications have been processed in Flint ahead of next month's primary. Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley recently voiced support for the city clerk's handling of the upcoming elections. “We have actually provided our full assistance to Clerk Inez Brown to provide any and all
resources, area or equipment needed to perform the upcoming election,”Neeley said in a written statement.”We appreciate the clerk's role in planning and arranging the election, but remain willing to support on behalf of all locals of Flint.”Source: michiganradio.org