Mail-in ballot requests, voter registrations surge after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death

'There's a younger generation that's definitely paying attention’

The passing of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg earlier this month was followed by a spike in voter registration and mail-in ballot requests across the country, according to a nonprofit group.

Vote.org, which advocates for expanded voting access and voter registration, reported a 68 percent jump from the week prior in new voter registrations after the late justice died at the age of 87 on 18 September. That amounted to 41,000 new registrations nationwide.

The group also saw a 42 per cent increase in the number of mail-in ballot requests, with 35,000 voters reportedly seeking access to mail-in voting amid the Covid-19 pandemic immediately after the liberal stalwart on the nation’s highest court passed away from metastatic pancreatic cancer.

“I think it means that people are paying attention, that there's a younger generation that's definitely paying attention”, Andrea Hailey, CEO of the nonprofit organisation, said in a statement to NBC News about the sudden spike in voter engagement it witnessed in the aftermath of justice Ginsburg’s passing.

She added: “With 30 some-odd days left to go, people are connecting these major moments in American history with action at the ballot box.”

The country fell into a state of mourning following justice Ginsburg’s death, with many hailing her as a trailblazer for civil rights and equality.

Justice Ginsburg, who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton to serve on the Supreme Court, was one of the most consequential judges in US history, paving the way for expanded women’s rights throughout her career.

Her death also set off a wave of fear in the Democratic Party and its supporters, as President Donald Trump swiftly announced his intention to nominate a replacement to fill the vacancy caused by the late justice’s passing.

A week later, he nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett, seen as a conservative legal mind and favourite among the president’s supporters. The Republican-led senate appeared all but set to confirm any nominee the president put forth, with a vast majority of GOP senators stating they would vote for his nominee even if he were to announce that replacement within six weeks of the next presidential election.

The engagement among voters appeared to remain high ever since the late justice’s passing, Ms Hailey told NBC News, noting how the site’s traffic levels broke its own records on National Voter Registration Day last week.

“I think we've gotten to a point in our country where it's not about parties anymore it's just about people who believe in a true and inclusive democracy, and people who don't,” she added. “I do think that there's a younger generation at least what we're seeing on the site that is awake and getting election information. We've had 2 million people register through the site so far this year.”