South Carolina’s Senior Citizen friendly Rules about Mail-in-Voting Unconstitutionally Discriminate against Voters under 65, a Panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Ruled last week, potentially forcing Changes to the State Law. At Issue are the Requirements for who can Vote Absentee, which are different for Older and Younger Voters in the State.
Generally, South Carolinians have to meet certain Criteria to Cast their Ballot by Mail, such as being Disabled, Caring for a Sick Person, having to Work or being Out of their County during the Regular and Early Voting window. But Voters 65 years old and Older don’t have to meet any of those Requirements; State Law says they can Vote-by-Mail regardless of their Circumstances.
A Group of Younger Charleston Residents Sued the S.C. Election Commission over that Discrepancy in 2023, Arguing their Limited Access to Mail-in-Voting Violated the 26th Amendment, which in 1971 set the National Voting age to 18 and Barred any Limitations on the Right-to-Vote “on account of age.” A District Court Dismissed their Argument, but a Three-Judge Panel of the 4th Circuit Agreed with them on Appeal, Ruling on 8/18/2026 that the 65-and-Older Section of the Law is Uunconstitutional.
“By granting voters aged sixty-five and older unconditional access to absentee-by-mail voting while conditioning that same option for younger voters on eligibility categories, documentation, and a rigid deadline, the state allocates voting opportunities unequally based solely on age,” U.S. Circuit Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote in the Order. The Decision sends the Case back to the District Court, which Gregory said "can determine how to fix the issue — either everyone gets no-exception absentee voting or nobody does", He wrote.
That step may not happen Immediately, or at All, as the State can still Appeal the Panel’s Ruling to the Full 4th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s where some Onlookers think the Question will eventually end up, since other Federal Appeals Courts previously have Ruled the Opposite way, such as a 5th Circuit Decision from 2022, that found a similar Texas Law to be Constitutional.
The Difference between the Two Court Decisions can be Understood by Comparing how each Interpreted the 26th Amendment. The 5th Circuit decided that making it Easier for Older People to Vote was Allowed, because it didn’t make Younger Ones Worse-Off than they were Before, while the 4th Circuit held that the Difference in Ttreatment between the Two Groups was itself Discriminatory, Voting Laws have to be Age-Neutral, Gregory wrote.
“South Carolina is an outlier,” Pamela S. Karlan, a Law Pprofessor at Stanford University who’s working on the Case, said. “Most states that allow relatively widespread absentee voting do not discriminate on the basis of age, right? They treat voters the same regardless of their age.” Some of the Plaintiffs Challenging the Law are Parishioners of the Charity Missionary Baptist Church of North Charleston, which is led by the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, a longtime Civil Rights Activist, Derfner said.
If the Challenge to the Early-Voting System is Successful, the State Legislature should just Scrap No-Excuse Mail-in-Voting altogether, thinks State Sen. Chip Campsen (R-Isle of Palms, 43rd District) who wrote the State’s Early Voting Law. The Alternative, Letting Anyone Vote-by-Mail for Any Reason, would be the “worst thing you could do,” Hhe said, because it would make the Sstate’s Election System less Secure.
“You really lose a lot of control and security over the ballot process when you do that,” Campsen said, noting that in that Scenario People could Vote Absentee if they Met the Age-Neutral Criteria Set by the Law."But it’s too early for the Legislature to react to the 4th Circuit’s ruling, and if the Supreme Court eventually sides with the state, it won’t have to react at all", He said.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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