Miss. Supreme Court denies absentee ballots for COVID concerns

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The Mississippi Supreme Court made a final ruling over absentee ballots Friday.

Voting rights groups sought to lift some restrictions over absentee balloting due to COVID-19 concerns.

A temporary or permanent disability is one reason Mississippi allows absentee voting. In July, legislature added a physician-imposed quarantine from COVID-19 as a “temporary physical disability.”

The wording of this addition was challenged to include recommended quarantines from doctors, rather than just physician-imposed.

However, the other challenges were denied.

A request for any voter to submit an absentee ballot to avoid public gatherings was denied.

The Supreme Court will not allow people without a pre-existing condition or a physician-recommended quarantine notice to qualify for an absentee ballot.

The court rules that pre-existing conditions that may make someone a larger risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 will qualify as a “physical disability.”