9th Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Rejects Argument AZ Must Count Ballots Cast in the Wrong Precinct

Same panel as in the other aspect of the Feldman case, same 2-1 split: this time, whether Arizona’s rule that ballots cast by a voter in the wrong precinct should not count (for those races that the voter was eligible to vote in) violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The district court denied the preliminary injunction. The 9th Circuit, in a Judge Ikuta opinion, affirmed, relying in part on the Purcell princple. Chief Judge Thomas dissented, in a dissent filled with graphs showing how much of an outlier AZ is when it comes to ballots cast in the wrong precinct, and the racial disparities of this rule.

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