The Supreme Court will allow Republicans in South Carolina to reinstate the witness-signature requirement for mail-in ballots.
What We Know:
- On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with Republicans in South Carolina to reinstate a major restriction on mail-in ballots. Lower courts previously suspended the witness-signature requirement because it created risk during the pandemic, but the Supreme Court has set that ruling aside.
- This victory for Republicans restores the South Carolina mandate which requires voters casting mail-in ballots to swear an oath and have their ballot signed by a witness. Democrats challenged this law because requiring an in-person witness signature could increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission and “burdens the right to vote”.
- The ruling grants exceptions for any ballots cast before the decision and received within two days of the order. There were no dissents, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch indicated that they would not have granted the exception and rejected any ballot without a witness signature, regardless of when it was cast and received.
- The Supreme Court’s ruling suggests that they will object to lower courts trying to change the rules of the election, even if it is a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended the order saying the court “has repeatedly emphasized that federal courts ordinarily should not alter state election rules in the period close to an election”.
There are some heated races in South Carolina for the 2020 election. The one catching the most national attention is the Senate race between incumbent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison.
