Supreme Court Blocks Curbside Voting, Loosening Of ID Requirements For Absentee Ballots

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2018/10/Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600.png
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:608;s:6:"height";i:342;s:4:"file";s:64:"2018/10/Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600.png";s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-336x189.png";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-140x140.png";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:62:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-80x80.png";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-600x338.png";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-600x342.png";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:342;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-553x311.png";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-470x265.png";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-600x342.png";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:342;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-600x342.png";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:342;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:64:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-e1539965999600-125x125.png";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Source: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] =>  BirminghamWatch
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:9:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:615;s:6:"height";i:408;s:4:"file";s:41:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM.png";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-140x140.png";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-336x223.png";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:223;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:47:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-80x80.png";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-600x338.png";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-300x300.png";s:5:"width";i:300;s:6:"height";i:300;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-469x311.png";s:5:"width";i:469;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-399x265.png";s:5:"width";i:399;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"Screen_Shot_2018-10-19_at_11.19.04_AM-125x125.png";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}}
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"sizes";a:1:{s:4:"full";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:28:"The file could not be saved.";}}s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:0;s:14:"optimized_size";i:0;s:7:"percent";i:0;}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => error
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 0
        )

)
1666283539 
1593788428

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday halted plans to provide curbside voting in the July 14 primary runoff and to ease ID requirements to vote by absentee ballot.

The state went to the Supreme Court asking that it stay a lower court judge’s ruling that eased some voting practices in an attempt to lessen the potential exposure to the coronavirus, particularly among older people.

That ruling was issued last month by U.S. District Court Judge Abdul K. Kallon, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block the ruling last week.

Thursday, the high court issued a temporary stay in the case on a 5-4 vote, but it still will have to decide whether to take up the case in full.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill announced the decision on Twitter Thursday evening.

Kallon had based his original ruling on the threat of coronavirus, saying that the “burdens imposed by the challenged election laws on voters at high risk of severe complications or death from COVID-19 are not justified by the state’s interests in enforcing the laws.”

His ruling would have allowed local voting officials to offer curbside voting at polling places if they chose to do so. It also would have allowed voting officials in Jefferson, Mobile and Lee counties to waive requirements that people voting by absentee ballot mail in a copy of an ID card with a photo, as well as have their ballots witnessed and notarized.

The suit was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.

 

As deadline for Trump’s colleges compact looms, schools signal dissent

Of the original nine schools that received the Trump administration's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, the majority have indicated they are not planning on signing.

Can collagen supplements improve your skin? Here’s what the research shows

With age comes wisdom. And wrinkles. And joint pain. In wellness circles, the buzz is that collagen supplements can help with all these concerns. But are these claims something you should swallow?

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff, topping right-wing rival

Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidency with 54% of the vote, ending 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party amid economic turmoil.

Trump announces tariffs and an end to U.S. aid to Colombia amid clash over drug trade

The U.S. will slash assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader, Gustavo Petro, "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

Sam Rivers, bassist and founding member of Limp Bizkit, dies aged 48

"Sam Rivers wasn't just our bass player — he was pure magic. The pulse beneath every song, the calm in the chaos, the soul in the sound," Limp Bizkit said in a social media post Saturday.

Israel strikes Gaza as both IDF and Hamas accuse each other of breaching ceasefire

The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday it responded after "terrorists" attacked troops operating in the Rafah area with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Hamas said it was unaware of the clashes.

More BirminghamWatch Coverage