Washington Post: Supreme Court denies GOP request, allows R.I. pandemic-related relief on mail-in ballots
Washington Post: Supreme Court denies GOP request, allows R.I. pandemic-related relief on mail-in ballots
The Supreme Court on Thursday rebuffed the Republican Party and allowed a consent decree to go forward so that Rhode Island voters during the coronavirus pandemic could cast mail-in ballots without in-person witness verification.
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 that 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.”…
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 it would expose voters to the virus.
This summer, the legislature failed to reach agreement on a bill that would extend that accommodation to elections in September and November. Groups including Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union sued, and state officials agreed in a consent decree not to enforce the witness requirement.
Then, Republicans sued. They alleged that the state had a history of fraud involving mail-in voting and that state officials must use the political, not judicial, process to make changes. …
The Republican request to the Supreme Court came after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit denied the GOP’s challenge to U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy’s decision to allow the consent decree.
“The consent decree reflects the considered judgment of Rhode Island election officials that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, voters should not have to face a choice between their health and their fundamental right to vote,” the groups suing for the change told the Supreme Court.
Since the witness requirement was not used in the June primary, the Supreme Court’s order said, “many Rhode Island voters may well” believe it is not required for future elections.
John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said the organization is “thrilled that the Supreme Court agreed not to stay the consent decree. Because of this order hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island voters will be able to safely cast their ballots without risking their health.”
The case is Republican National Committee v. Common Cause.
See More: Voting RightsVoting & ElectionsCOVID-19