A federal appeals court has ruled that South Carolina's law providing an unconditional right to vote by mail for residents over 65 is unconstitutional, finding it discriminates based on age. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to lower courts, stating that either all voters must have unrestricted access to absentee ballots, or none should.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by younger voters who argued the age-based exemption violated the 26th Amendment, which prohibits denying citizens the right to vote based on age. While a lower court initially dismissed the argument, the Fourth Circuit's chief judge, Roger Gregory, wrote that by conditioning mail-in voting for younger voters on specific eligibility categories and deadlines while removing those for older voters, the state unequally allocated voting opportunities.
The case could potentially reach the Supreme Court, as state representatives have indicated plans to appeal the decision. This ruling comes in the same week the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day, a decision seen as a setback for those seeking to restrict mail-in voting.
In a separate but related matter, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing parts of a previous executive order concerning mail-in voting rules ahead of future elections. Further litigation is expected on that front as well.