Fourth Circuit Voids South Carolina 65-and-Over Mail Voting Rule, Setting Up Supreme Court Appeal
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Fourth Circuit Voids South Carolina 65-and-Over Mail Voting Rule, Setting Up Supreme Court Appeal
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Summary
A federal appeals court ruled South Carolina’s absentee-voting law unconstitutional because it gave voters 65 and older unrestricted mail-ballot access while younger voters faced eligibility limits.
The Fourth Circuit said that age-based split violated the 26th Amendment, and Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote the state must either open no-excuse absentee voting to all voters or to none.
The case began after younger voters sued the South Carolina Elections Commission in 2023; the appeals court sent it back to lower court with instructions to resolve it under that standard.
South Carolina officials plan to appeal, potentially to the Supreme Court, extending a fight that comes as courts also weigh President Donald Trump’s broader push to tighten mail-voting rules before the 2026 midterms.
The ruling cuts against Republicans challenging expansive mail-ballot access even after the Supreme Court, in a separate 5-4 decision, upheld Mississippi’s acceptance of ballots postmarked by Election Day.