![An election worker handles vote-by-mail ballots](https://media.nbcphiladelphia.com/2019/09/GettyImages-1206477812.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&crop=0px%2C0px%2C0px%2C0px&resize=320%2C180)
As health experts warn that the country could still be grappling with the coronavirus pandemic this fall, lawsuits aiming to expand access to mail-in ballots in key battleground states could help determine the outcome of the presidential race.
Nonpartisan groups, such as the Campaign Legal Center, as well as a handful of Democratic organizations, including Priorities USA, are backing lawsuits in more than a dozen states in an effort to eliminate administrative hurdles that could make vote-by-mail difficult or even inaccessible to voters, NBCNews reports.
“A large percentage of people are going to vote by mail, maybe even a large majority,” said Paul Smith, vice president of litigation and strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization that works to support access to voting and is currently litigating cases related to the coronavirus and vote-by-mail in Minnesota, Texas and New Jersey.
“It's incredibly important this year that everyone is able to choose to vote by mail without an undue burden,” Smith said.