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A federal appeals court ruled that South Carolina's absentee voting law violates the Twenty-Sixth Amendment by creating age-based distinctions.

A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that South Carolina’s absentee voting law violates the U.S. Constitution. The court found that the state’s different rules for younger and older voters run afoul of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits abridging the right to vote on account of age.

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Under current law, voters aged 65 and older can cast an absentee ballot by mail without providing a reason, while voters under 65 must meet specific eligibility requirements. Chief Judge Roger Gregory stated that the state’s system gives older voters greater access to absentee voting than younger voters, which constitutes an abridgement of the right to vote on the basis of age. The case returns to federal district court, where a judge will will decide how to remedy the constitutional violation. Possible solutions include extending no-excuse absentee voting to voters under 65 or eliminating the no-excuse absentee voting privilege currently available to voters 65 and older. Armand Derfner, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, stated that the issue is about equal treatment at the ballot box. The South Carolina Election Commission stated that the rules for absentee voting have not changed immediately.

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