In the days leading up to the Aug. 8 primary, a significant decision by a federal judge may have been somewhat overlooked.
U.S. Judge Henry Wingate rightly put the kibosh on Mississippi’s efforts to heavily restrict who can help absentee voters complete their ballots.
Wingate called out the state law as an obvious violation of a superseding federal law, the Voting Rights Act, which says any voter who is blind, disabled or unable to read may receive assistance “by a person of the voter’s choice,” other than the voter’s employer or union.
The drafters of the state law said they wanted to cut down on efforts by campaigns to stuff the ballot box by hiring people to bring in as many absentee ballots as they can muster.
Absentee ballots are admittedly an area that is open to abuse. But efforts to reduce the chances of fraud need to be legal.
