SC will pay postage for all mail-in ballots in November

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina State Elections Commission has agreed to provide prepaid return postage for all absentee ballots by mail this November.

The joint agreement, filed in federal court Wednesday, follows a lawsuit by individual voters and multiple Democratic party groups earlier this year over voting access and safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Plaintiffs argued the requirement for voters to pay the return postage was akin to a poll tax. They said people buying stamps would likely have to break social distancing protocols and...