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Arizona election law violates Voting Rights Act, 9th Circuit says
Republicans get caught again, trying to deny the vote. What scum.
Republicans get caught again, trying to deny the vote. What scum.
Federal court says Arizona 'ballot harvesting' law discriminates against minority voters
Arizona violated the Voting Rights Act by barring voters from delivering the early ballots of neighbors, friends and others to polling places, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The policy against so-called "ballot harvesting" disproportionately affects American Indian, Hispanic and African American voters, a majority of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
Republicans who control the Legislature enacted the policy with the intent of suppressing turnout among voters from minority groups, the court decided.
And in a victory for Democrats, who challenged the 2016 law, the court also said the state's policy of discarding the provisional ballots of voters who turn up at the wrong precinct is illegal, too.
The court was divided in its ruling, with four judges on the 11-judge panel dissenting. Attorney General Mark Brnovich said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as Arizona approaches what is bound to be a hard-fought election in which the outcomes of major races could hinge on a few thousand votes.
The court addressed two policies in a sprawling 113-page decision.
The court said uncontested evidence showed a large and disproportionate number of Hispanic and American Indian voters relied on others to collect and deliver their early mail ballots.
American Indian and Hispanic communities frequently face problems with mail service that make it difficult to turn in mail ballots on time, the court said. In urban areas, apartment buildings might not have outgoing mail service and residents may not regard their mailboxes as safe. Only 18% of American Indian voters have home mail service, the court said, adding that a lack of transportation compounds the problem.
In turn, organizers regularly collected ballots from voters and delivered the ballots to election officials.
Republican lawmakers argued the practice could allow for fraud and pushed the legislation to end it, eventually enacting House Bill 2023.