US supreme court could deal blow to provision protecting minority voters

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) The US supreme court will hear a case on Tuesday that could allow the court’s conservative majority to deal a major blow to the most powerful remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law designed to prevent racial discrimination in voting.

The case, Brnovich v Democratic National Committee, involves a dispute over two Arizona measures. One is a 2016 law that bans anyone other than a close family member or caregiver from collecting absentee ballots, sometimes called ballot harvesting. The second is a measure that requires officials to reject ballots cast in the wrong precinct, even if the voter has cast a vote in statewide races.

Arizona rejected more than 38,335 ballots cast in the wrong precinct between 2008 and 2016 and minority voters were twice as likely than white voters to have their ballots rejected, the DNC noted in its brief. Minority voters, including the state’s Native American population, are disproportionately harmed by the ballot collection ban because they are more likely to lack reliable mail service.

The DNC argues that the policies violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting laws that discriminate based on race. A trial court ruled in 2018 that the policies did not violate the law, and a three-judge panel on the US court of appeals for the ninth circuit later upheld that ruling. But the full circuit voted to rehear the case and last year found that the policies did violate the Voting Rights Act. Now, Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican, and the Arizona Republican party are appealing that ruling to the US supreme court. .............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/01/us-supreme-court-voting-rights-act-provision

[Iliyah]

1. Let's hope two republican justices side with Democracy . ....

[Walleye]

2. Jeeze. It's a miracle we ever win any elections

[Hoyt]

3. If the worst happens, think it would be relatively easy to make sure voters go to right precinct.

The Harvesting, can be handled too and I'd just as soon not have Klan members -- and other white wing organizations -- collecting ballots.