Federal court say takes aim at Arizona voting laws

Judge calls one unconstitutional, another discriminatory

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A federal court says a 2016 Arizona law violates both the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

The law bans anyone but a family member or a caregiver from returning early ballots for someone else.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also took aim at a state's policy for handling ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The state currently throws out those votes. However, Judge William Fletcher says the practice has a discriminatory effect on Native American, Hispanic, and African American voters.

Republicans who backed the law claim it was a common sense approach to preventing fraud.