105 Iowa L. Rev. 799 (2020)

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Abstract

The right to vote is a fundamental right in a democratic society that ensures each and every citizen is able to participate in the political process. Although all states recognize the right to vote in their constitutions, state legislatures are free to impose time, place, and manner requirements to regulate how individuals exercise this right. Because it is the courts’ role to interpret their constitutions, judicial review at the state-level becomes an essential component in determining the scope of individuals’ voting rights. Whether the courts will be deferential to the state legislatures’ broad lawmaking authority to impose election regulations or if the courts will be more protective of individual citizens’ constitutional right to vote depends on how the state court interprets challenged statutes. In the modern era, as fewer individuals vote in-person, and voters become more inclined to cast absentee ballots due to illness, work, disability, or mere convenience, the courts will be faced with an increasing need to scrutinize absentee voting laws. While absentee voting has been historically viewed as a narrow exception to traditional voting, recent developments show the increasing necessity of viewing the absentee voting process as functionally equivalent to voting at the polls. Therefore, any absentee voting regulation that is challenged going forward should require courts to make an initial determination of whether such regulation unduly burdens voters in a way that infringes on the constitutional right to vote.