The vote was 5-4. The liberal bloc of judges Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan noted their dissent.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had asked the Supreme Court to step in and allow those requirements to take effect again after they were blocked by a lower court, which cited the coronavirus pandemic.
The state says the measures were enacted to protect fraud on absentee ballots, noting that during the pandemic it has taken “extraordinary measures,” including issuing a state of emergency and entering a series of orders aimed at protecting the Health.
But four older or disabled voters joined voting rights groups to challenge the requirements, arguing they violated the right to vote. They also questioned the state’s ban on voting on the sidewalk.
A lower court blocked requirements in three counties, Jefferson, Mobile, and Lee, for the second round of the Senate on July 14.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
.
