6th Circuit Court Affirms Tennessee Ban on Sharing Absentee Ballot Forms

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Tennessee law that makes it a felony for nonelection officials to distribute absentee ballot applications

Official absentee ballot issued in Washington on Oct. 11, 2022. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

In a divided 2–1 opinion, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Tennessee law that bans the distribution of absentee ballot applications by nonelection officials. The ruling upholds a lower court’s decision, maintaining that the law does not infringe upon free speech rights.

The legislation, in place since 1979, had been challenged in 2020 by groups such as the Tennessee Chapter of the NAACP and the Memphis AFL-CIO on the grounds that it allegedly violated free speech rights protected by the First Amendment.