Judge: North Carolina voters with disabilities can choose who helps them

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A federal judge has blocked North Carolina laws that greatly restrict who can help people with disabilities seek absentee ballots and fill them out.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ruled this week in favor of Disability Rights North Carolina, which sued the State Board of Elections.

Boyle wrote state law limiting who can help a disabled person to a close relative or legal guardian conflicts with the federal Voting Rights Act.

The state board now says that person can pick whomever they wish to assist them.

The previous restrictions still apply to people who are not disabled and live in hospitals, rest homes or nursing homes.

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