The Aug. 18 ruling focuses on the state's age-based system. Voters 65 and older are given unrestricted access to absentee mail-in ballots. Meanwhile, younger voters face some requirements to get an absentee ballot.
The law was challenged by a group of voters three years ago.
U.S. District Court of South Carolina Judge Bruce Hendricks sided with the election commission in 2025. The decision was appealed. The ruling says the law violates the 26th amendment.
“Because the South Carolina statute at issue restricts access to ‘no excuse’ absentee-by-mail ballots to voters 65 years of age or older, we agree with Plaintiffs that it violates the Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” the ruling reads.
At the end of the nearly 30-page opinion, the ruling stated the district court should either expand the "no excuse" absentee ballot option or remove the benefit.
The district court must take up proceedings before any voting laws will change.
