Democratic Party in National Public Radio

On Government Reform: AZ mail-in restrictions violate Voting Rights Act

Arizona voting restrictions challenged as violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. First, voters casting their votes on Election Day outside their precinct are not counted. Second, mail-in ballots cannot be collected by anyone other than an election official, a mail carrier, or a voter's family or household member. The court held, 6-3, that these restrictions did not violate the Act nor were they racially discriminatory.

Dissenters argued that the Court's narrow reading weakened the law and disregarded its intent to address disparities in how election laws affect different racial groups. The rule discarding "out of precinct votes" impacted black and Hispanic voters, with Arizona leading the country in discarding such votes. Restrictions on vote collection makes voting more difficult for Native Americans.

President Biden said he was "deeply disappointed in today's decision by the United States Supreme Court that undercuts the Voting Rights Act."

Source: NPR commentary on 2021 SCOTUS rulings Jul 1, 2021

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Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024