Appeals court maintains block on Alabama absentee ballot restrictions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a portion of a new Alabama law limiting help with absentee ballot applications will remain blocked. The decision on Friday sides with voting rights groups who argued that it discriminated against voters who are blind, disabled or cannot read. A three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court unanimously affirmed a lower court decision from September that blocked a portion of the law. The measure made it illegal to distribute an absentee ballot application that is prefilled with information such as the voter’s name, or to return another person’s absentee ballot application. An appeal was filed by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.