JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The ruling for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) motion to block a bill that would ban ballot harvesting in Mississippi could come down on Tuesday, June 13.

An emergency hearing was held on Tuesday for oral arguments to be heard in the preliminary junction motion of Senate Bill 2358. The SPLC said the bill infringes upon disabled voters’ rights.

State Senator Angela Burks Hill (R-District 40), who is the author of the bill, believes that plenty of exceptions were made for disabled voters.

“I think that is a sham argument from the Southern Poverty Law Center, because if anyone is totally disabled, they have some type of caregivers that they interact with. And the law says that they can help those people. The Constitution gives the states the right to set election law. If we base our laws on how many times we’re going to get sued, we’d never pass anything because they’re going to sue us every time. So, it’s our responsibility and our right under the U.S. Constitution to set election law,” said Burks Hill.

“Plaintiffs have asked for urgent relief from the law because it will irreparably harm voters across the state, especially those with disabilities or those with low literacy,” said Casey Smith, ACLU Equal Justice Works fellow.

The law is set to go into effect on July 1, 2023. The judge did not rule from the bench on Tuesday, but a ruling is expected after Thursday, June 15.