Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Law, Ballot Harvesting Ban

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a recent Arizona voting law that placed restrictions on absentee voting and ballot harvesting.

The high court upheld the Arizona law, ruling that states are able to pass laws that prevent voter fraud, according to the decision Thursday. Voting rights groups had condemned the law, which they said would disenfranchise thousands of voters, NBC News reported.

“Arizona law generally makes it very easy to vote,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

“One strong and entirely legitimate state interest is the prevention of fraud,” he continued. “Fraud can affect the outcome of a close election, and fraudulent votes dilute the right of citizens to cast ballots that carry appropriate weight. Fraud can also undermine public confidence in the fairness of elections and the perceived legitimacy of the announced outcome.”

Alito said it was an important state interest that every vote cast in an election is cast freely and without intimidation.

Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed the voting legislation into law in May.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett joined Alito. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.

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