US court denies bid to force expanded Indiana mail-in voting

("My Trusty Gavel" by Brian Turner, CC BY 2.0)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that aimed to make mail-in ballots available to all Indiana voters for this fall’s election because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The record number of Indiana residents voting by mail this fall were warned to return their ballots in time to meet a noon Election Day deadline as a judge in a separate lawsuit put an extension she had ordered on hold.

The appeals court on Tuesday ruled state officials had discretion in how to allow mail voting and voters not wanting to cast ballots on Election Day had the option of going to early voting sites.