JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi is reviewing restrictions it imposed last year on who can provide mail-in voting assistance to people with disabilities or who cannot read or write. Those restrictions were blocked by a federal judge but eventually were overturned by lawmakers.
An updated state law went into effect Monday, amending a law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves in 2023.
“This amendment is a monumental step forward for voting rights in Mississippi, ensuring that every citizen’s voice is heard and respected,” Greta Kemp Martin, litigation director for Disability Rights Mississippi, said in a statement Monday.
Disability Rights Mississippi, the League of Women Voters of Mississippi and three voters sued the state in 2023, challenging the short list of people allowed to “pick up and mail” a mail ballot. The list included employees of the U.S. Postal Service or other mail carriers such as FedEx or UPS, and any “family member, household member or caregiver of the person to whom the ballot was mailed.” A violation would have been punishable by up to a year in prison, a $3,000 fine or both.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate blocked the law last year, writing that it violated the federal Voting Rights Act, which says that any voter who is blind, disabled or unable to read or write can receive assistance “from a person of the voter’s choosing,” other than their employer or union.
The new version of Mississippi’s law mirrors that section of the Voting Rights Act. It also defines who is considered a caregiver, family member or household member of a voter. Democratic lawmakers who opposed the 2023 law said it was vague and could harm candidates, campaign workers, nursing home employees or others who make good faith efforts to help people obtain and mail ballots.
Republican-led states have tightened rules on mail-in voting since the 2020 presidential election, in part because of the false narrative of widespread fraud in that race. When Reeves signed Mississippi’s 2023 bill into law, he said it was to prevent “ballot harvesting,” a derogatory term for dropping off completed ballots for other people.
One of the residents who sued the state, Mamie Cunningham, is the director of a community organization and involved with Black Voters Matter in northeast Mississippi.
“Many people with disabilities in rural communities would not vote if they did not have assistance,” Cunningham said in a statement Monday. “In Mississippi, voting by mail is an overwhelming process, even for people without disabilities.”
Some states allow widespread use of voting by mail, but Mississippi restricts the reasons people can vote by mail. Mail ballots are available — by mail or for early, in-person voting — to Mississippi voters who are 65 or older; any voter with a temporary or permanent physical disability, or any voter who is a caregiver for that person; and any voter who will not be in their home state on Election Day, including students.
