evidence: In 2020, a federal court explained after a full trial on the merits that Alabama’s restrictive absentee voting laws "enacted in the 1990s" and still in place today "disproportionately disadvantaged the rural Black citizens who historically relied on absentee voting. Because these citizens regularly worked long hours outside their counties and often lacked access to vehicles, they struggled to reach ‘far-flung polling places’ on Election Day. Alabama’s rural Black Belt, which is predominately Black, thus saw sharp declines in the number of absentee ballots cast."[41] That same court found that Alabama’s requirement that absentee voters have their ballot witnessed by two other individuals or have their ballot envelope notarized violated Section 2 of the VRA in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.[42] The court found that the interaction of the witness requirement with "‘the totality of the circumstances’ people of color face, e.g. disparities in health, COVID-19 risks, and access to critical resources for safely adhering to the witness requirement like transportation, funds for a notary, technology, and internet access" created these unequal outcomes.[43] The court further found "that the history of discrimination shows racial bias in the Alabama community caused the alleged vote-denial or abridgment."[44] [...] [68] "Election Fraud Cases," The Heritage Foundation, accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search. [...] [70] "Election Fraud Cases," The Heritage Foundation, accessed February 26, 2024, https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search.