Federal Court ruled that an Arizona election rule is an act of voter suppression and discrimination.
What We Know:
- Arizona Republicans favored banning mail-in ballots; they agreed that mail-in ballots were unconstitutional. But, the Court thought otherwise. The court ruled that the law intentionally discriminated against African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics from casting a ballot.
- The Arizona legislature introduced House Bill 2023 in 2016. The bill’s revision aimed to target ballot abuse but undeniably held racist intent. House Bill 2020 acknowledged that an individual who deliberately collects ballots from another person, is guilty of a class 6 felony (less severe offenses under Arizona law; a person will spend one year in prison read more).
- A 2016 Vox report expressed the Arizona Republican agreement (ban mail-in ballots) would [intentionally] make it much harder for Native Americans to vote. It can become an issue for those without cars or mailboxes or local postal services. The ruling halted Native Americans from turning over voted or unvoted ballots to volunteers; which, is why the court ruled the ban as an egregious law discriminating against people of color.
- Additionally, The Arizona Republic Newspaper (ARN) reported the court found that Arizona discarded more provisional ballots than any other state; and, the newspaper reported minority voters are more likely to file at the wrong precinct than white voters.
- Finally, the ARN cited Democrats cheered the ruling, seeing it as the protection of the Arizonans’ right to vote. With the court detailing their opinion as to the state’s Republicans intent to suppress the people’s participation in elections.
Some may argue that racism is over, but the laws and bans, such as the mentioned, proved that racism is tacitly rooted in US laws, codes, and statues.
