MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The US Supreme Court in a decision 5-4 Thursday blocked a first instance court ruling allowing sidewalk voting in Alabama and waiving some absentee voting requirements during the COVID pandemic- 19.
Conservative judges accepted Alabama’s request to suspend a federal judge’s order that would allow local officials to offer a curbside vote on the second round of July and reduce absentee voting requirements in three of the state’s largest counties. . The order will remain suspended while the court decides whether to hear Alabama’s appeal.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he was pleased that the court moved quickly to keep Alabama’s voting rules in effect for the Republican Party’s second round of July 14 in which former Attorney General Jeff Sessions Compete against former Auburn University soccer coach Tommy Tuberville for the Senate.
Trump, who has endorsed Tuberville, has repeatedly acted on Twitter. The winner of the Republican showdown will face Democratic Senator Doug Jones in November. It is considered as a vulnerable holder.
“Alabama can once again enforce laws that help ensure the fairness and integrity of our elections,” said the Republican.
The court decisions stem from a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disability Defense Program. A group of voters had sought more voting options due to health problems.
US District Judge Abdul K. Kallon issued a preliminary court order last month after discovering that Alabama’s electoral rules will make sick or elderly voters “likely to face a painful and difficult choice between exercising their fundamental right to vote and safeguarding their health, which could prevent them from casting a vote in the upcoming elections. “
Kallon said Alabama cannot prevent local election officials from offering curbside voting at in-person polling places in the second round on July 14. Kallon also ruled that Alabama cannot require some voters to vote absentee in three counties to send photocopies of their identification and witness signatures if it is dangerous for them to leave during the pandemic due to their age and underlying health conditions.
All three counties are where the plaintiffs in the lawsuit live.
Alabama appealed the decision. The state argued that changing absentee voting rules in three of Alabama’s 67 counties would be confusing and that curbside voting would be a major change made just before the election.
The state also argued that Alabama’s rules are necessary to combat voter fraud and are not unreasonable.
“But this dichotomy between voting and security is false, even during COVID-19. The individual plaintiffs in this case regularly see at least one other person. Can’t they really find a safe way for a second person to see them sign a piece of paper? State attorneys wrote in their petition to the Supreme Court.
All five conservative court judges ruled in Alabama’s favor, while the four most liberal judges indicated they would deny the state’s request for suspension. The judges did not offer an explanation for their decision in the brief order issued Thursday night.
“Unfortunately, this means that Alabama voters who are at increased risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 will have to risk their health and violate the CDC’s recommendations to vote on July 14,” said Deuel Ross, lead attorney for NAACP. Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., said in a statement.
The plaintiffs said they were disappointed in the decision and that they will continue the ongoing process in Alabama federal court.
