A federal judge, Henry Wingate, has issued an order blocking a new Mississippi law that sought to impose criminal penalties on individuals providing assistance with absentee voting. This ruling comes at a time when absentee ballots are already available for the party primaries involving gubernatorial and other state offices.
In his order issued on Tuesday, Judge Wingate emphasized that Mississippi cannot enforce the law during this year’s primaries or the general election. He stated that the state law is in violation of the Voting Rights Act, a federal law that allows voters who are blind, disabled, or unable to read to receive assistance from a person of their choosing, except for their employer or union.
The law, which was scheduled to take effect on July 1, aimed to limit the scope of individuals who could “collect and transmit” absentee ballots. The list included employees of the U.S. Postal Service or other mail carriers, as well as “family members, household members, or caregivers” of the absentee ballot recipients. Violation of this law would result in penalties of up to a year in jail and a fine of $3,000.
Critics of the law argued that these restrictions could adversely affect candidates, campaign workers, nursing home employees, and others who genuinely intend to assist people in obtaining and mailing absentee ballots.
Judge Wingate expressed concerns about the criminal penalties and the vague definition of terms such as “caregiver,” stating that such provisions could discourage lawful individuals from providing much-needed aid to vulnerable populations.
Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, signed the law in March, justifying it as a measure to prevent political operatives from engaging in “ballot harvesting,” a term used pejoratively to describe the collection and handling of completed ballots for others. However, Judge Wingate noted that during questioning in court, state defendants failed to provide evidence of a widespread ballot harvesting problem in Mississippi.
The lawsuit challenging the law was filed in June and was represented by Disability Rights Mississippi, the League of Women Voters of Mississippi, and three residents from Okolona. The plaintiffs, including a 78-year-old Army veteran with disabilities, argued that the restrictions on absentee voting could disenfranchise voters by preventing them from receiving assistance from trusted individuals.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Disability Rights Mississippi, Mississippi Center for Justice, and Southern Poverty Law Center, praised the ruling as a victory for voting rights and Mississippians with disabilities.
Mississippi’s elections for governor, statewide, regional, legislative, and county offices are scheduled for this year. The party primaries are slated for August 8, with the general election set for November 7.
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