Supreme Court blocks curbside voting in Alabama
The U.S. Supreme Court moved to block curbside voting in Alabama Wednesday night, suspending -- for now -- a lower federal court order that had mandated state officials provide the accommodation for voters with disabilities during the pandemic.
The decision came from the court's five conservative justices who voted to grant the stay. The liberals -- Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan -- dissented.
"Plaintiff Howard Porter, Jr., a Black man in his seventies with asthma and Parkinson’s Disease, told the District Court: '(S)o many of my (ancestors) even died to vote. And while I don’t mind dying to vote, I think we’re past that -- we’re past that time.' Election officials in at least Montgomery and Jefferson Counties agree," wrote Sotomayor in a written dissent.
"They are ready and willing to help vulnerable voters like Mr. Porter cast their ballots without unnecessarily risking infection from a deadly virus. This Court should not stand in their way," she wrote. "I respectfully dissent."
Alabama officials had opposed implementation of curbside voting, which has not been common practice during elections. The state argued in court documents that it would "cause confusion and much harm" and potentially compromise ballot secrecy.
The ruling signals the high court's continued deference to state legislatures and local election officials in setting election policy and an aversion to having federal courts impose new rules so close to Election Day.
-ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer