4
MERRILL v. PEOPLE FIRST OF ALABAMA
SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
generally, not in-person voting specifically, and that absentee voting ensures access to that benefit. But under the
ADA, “[t]he benefit itself . . . cannot be defined in a way that
effectively denies otherwise qualified handicapped individuals the meaningful access to which they are entitled.” Alexander v. Choate, 469 U. S. 287, 301 (1985). In-person voters receive assistance from poll workers; need no witnesses,
notaries, or copies of their photo IDs, as Alabama law requires for absentee ballots; and know their ballot will not
arrive too late or be rejected for failure to comply with absentee ballots’ many requirements. ___ F. Supp. 3d, at ___,
2020 WL 5814455, *59–*60. Absentee and in-person voting
are different benefits, and voters with disabilities are entitled to equal access to both.
The District Court’s modest injunction is a reasonable accommodation, given the short time before the election. It
does not require all counties to adopt curbside voting; it
simply gives prepared counties the option to do so. This
remedy respects both the right of voters with disabilities to
vote safely and the State’s interest in orderly elections. The
District Court’s compromise likewise does not risk creating
“voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away
from the polls.” Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U. S. 1, 4–5 (2006)
(per curiam). The injunction lifts burdensome requirements rather than imposing them, and permits county officials to help educate voters about whether curbside voting
is available in their county. See ___ F. Supp. 3d, at ___,
2020 WL 5814455, *44. Moreover, the injunction neither
invalidates state law nor prohibits the secretary from issuing guidance consistent with the District Court’s ruling.
Id., at *45, *61–*62.
Plaintiff Howard Porter, Jr., a Black man in his seventies
with asthma and Parkinson’s Disease, told the District
Court: “ ‘[S]o many of my [ancestors] even died to vote. And
while I don’t mind dying to vote, I think we’re past that –
we’re past that time.’ ” Id., at *11, *15. Election officials in