[EL] Question about mail-in ballots and VRA Section 2 analsyes

[Jeff Wice]

Dr. Lisa Handley recently pointed out to me an issue related to mail-in ballots and Voting Rights Section 2 compliance. Determining if a redistricting plan complies with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requires a racial bloc voting analysis and this is conducted using election precinct returns and other election precinct data.

Several counties do not report (and some states do not require) mail-in ballots to be allocated back to the election precinct level but instead simply tabulate and report the votes at the county level. This would  not permit anyone to conduct a racial bloc voting analysis.

In these situations, is there any way to ensure that mail-in ballots be reported at the election precinct level as opposed to the county level?

Jeff Wice
Adjunct Professor/Senior Fellow
New York Law School
185 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013

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