Brigid Bergin and Jon Campbell report for Gothamist that Republican and Conservative Party leaders filed a lawsuit last week challenging the New York's laws absentee ballot rules. Currently, New Yorkers are allowed to vote absentee if they fear contracting a disease such as COVID-19. This lawsuit would force most people to vote in person. Some absentee ballots for this election with in-person voting Oct. 29 through Nov. 8 have already been requested, and some have been mailed back. This lawsuit could invalidate those votes. Republicans and Conservatives have been challenging election laws throughout the country recently, in an apparent attempt to lower voter turnout. “Let's face it, the pandemic is over,” said Erik Haight, the Dutchess County Republican elections commissioner who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “So to continue pandemic-era rules in perpetuity is inherently flawed.” The claim that the pandemic is over is false, as the Centers for Disease Control reports high community levels of COVID-19 currently in Berkshire, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties, and local counties continue to report deaths from the virus. Read more about this story at Gothamist.