Supreme Court to hear argument on Arizona case
US voting-rights advocates are worried as the Supreme Court organizes to hear arguments in an Arizona case that could undercut the landmark law that insured the rights of minorities at the polls for a half-century.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a pair of cases that will determine when states may limit voting and whether a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act will stand. This comes after five years of Arizona criminalized “ballot harvesting”.
The cases are Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 19-1257, and Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee, 19-1258.
Arguments in the case are put for Tuesday. This comes as Republican-controlled states speculate that a barrage of new restrictions could make it tough for minorities to cast ballots in 2022 elections. November’s presidential contest in which Donald Trump refused to admit and instead made baseless arguments of widespread fraud is also a reason for this case.
Myrna Perez, a voting rights litigator at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice said, “The court could decide this in a number of ways which could include weakening or limiting” the law.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, out of twenty-six States that allow voters to appoint a third party to turn in their ballots, 12 of them limit how many ballots a person can select. Ten states allow family members or caregivers to return ballots but not third parties.
Supporters say ballot collection gives voting rights to low-income voters who work many jobs or can’t afford transport. Critics see a chance for ballot tampering and forcing voters.
They say that there will be a disproportionate consequence on Black and Latino voters as the dispute before the justices may have far-reaching implications for the ability to challenge other controversial election laws including voter ID requirements.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, in 33 states, about 165 bills that would restrict voting have been introduced this year, which is nearly five times more from the same period in 2020.
