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Would you vote by mail if you had to drive hours to a post office to mail your ballot? That question confronts the United States Supreme Court this session in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, which analysts see as one of the most important voting rights cases in a decade.

The Supreme Court will soon rule on the case Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, which questions the constitutionality of two Arizona voting laws.

The first, H.B. 2023 from 2016, makes it a felony for anyone other than a family member, caregiver or postal worker to collect and deliver ballots. The second requires ballots to be cast in the assigned precinct where a voter lives. If a voter casts a provisional ballot at the wrong polling place, election officials will reject it.

These proceed a wave of new voting restriction legislation from 2020 across 47 states, with the claim that they will improve the integrity of the voting system. Civil rights advocates argue that these two laws disproportionately inhibit voters from low income and minority communities. In 2018, nearly 80% of Arizona residents voted by mail, yet rural areas, as well as Hispanic and Native American communities have more difficult access to post offices. Further restricting the people who can submit mail-in votes would only further lessen their likelihood of voting successfully. The same is true for submitting provisional ballots, since they are meant to absolve a mistake in a voter's polling place by allowing them to submit one from any polling place.

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