In a short unsigned order, the Supreme Court handed President Trump and the GOP their first loss in a mail-in ballot case. There are many more lawsuits from both sides that will be decided soon as this shapes up to the most litigated election in recent memory.
The GOP sued to stop Rhode Island voters from being able to cast mail-in ballots without in-person witness verification. The state allowed this during the primary and the GOP did not want them to carry the practice over the November election. The Court decided they can and wrote,
“The application for stay presented to Justice Breyer and by him referred to the Court is denied. Unlike Merrill v. People First of Alabama, 591 U. S. ___ (2020), and other similar cases where a State defends its own law, here the state election officials support the challenged decree, and no state official has expressed opposition.:
“Under these circumstances, the applicants lack a cognizable interest in the State’s ability to “enforce its duly enacted” laws. Abbott v. Perez, 585 U. S. ___, ___ n. 17 (2018).”
“The status quo is one in which the challenged requirement has not been in effect, given the rules used in Rhode Island’s last election, and many Rhode Island voters may well hold that belief.”
“Justice Thomas, Justice Alito, and Justice Gorsuch would grant the application.”
From The Washington Post:
It was the first time the justices had agreed to a pandemic-related voter relief effort. But they explained in a short, unsigned order that state officials had agreed to relax the rules, and the change already had been implemented during the June primary.
Unlike “similar cases where a state defends its own law, here the state election officials support the challenged decree, and no state official has expressed opposition,” the order said.
“Under these circumstances, the applicants lack a cognizable interest in the state’s ability to enforce its duly enacted laws.”
The vote was not announced, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch noted that they would have granted the stay requested by the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party.
Rhode Island requires voters mailing their ballots to sign them in front of two witnesses or a notary.
But Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) suspended that requirement for the June primary because of worries that it would expose voters to the virus.
But the legislature could not reach agreement on a bill that would extend that accommodation to elections in September and November. Groups including Common Cause sued, and state officials agreed in a consent decree not to enforce the witness requirement.
Read their order here.
