Supreme Court Curbs Voting Rights Act, Backs State Ballot Rules

An ideologically divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld two Arizona voting restrictions, limiting the reach of the Voting Rights Act in a decision that provides legal cover for Republicans as they push for new rules around the country ahead of the 2022 election.

Voting 6-3, the court said Arizona didn’t violate the landmark 1965 law with its criminal ban on what critics call “ballot harvesting” and its practice of rejecting ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The ruling came on the final decision day of the court’s nine-month term.

The decision builds on a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that wiped out ...