![Edwards Asks Judge to Widen Absentee Balloting for Elections](http://townsquare.media/site/159/files/2020/06/GettyImages-592215702.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
Edwards Asks Judge to Widen Absentee Balloting for Elections
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking a federal judge to order Louisiana’s elections chief to broaden the use of absentee-by-mail voting for the fall elections because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Democratic governor filed the request Wednesday in an ongoing lawsuit by voting rights advocates seeking to widen mail-in balloting options for the Nov. 3 and Dec. 5 elections. Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin proposed an emergency plan with a limited expansion of absentee-by-mail voting for those confirmed to have COVID-19. Edwards intends to block the plan.
That leaves U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick to decide the election operating rules. Dick has scheduled a two-day hearing starting Tuesday.
(Story written By MELINDA DESLATTE/AP)
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