The US Supreme Court stayed a lower court decision Monday that prevented South Carolina from enforcing its witness requirement on mail-in ballots. This means that mail-in ballots received in South Carolina must include a witness signature in order to be counted. However, by a 5-3 vote, the court also ruled that any ballots received prior to its order, and up to two days after the order, should still be accepted even without the witness signature.
South Carolina changed its law in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow for no-excuse absentee ballots. This means that any voter who wants to vote by mail can do so. However, it still retained its requirement for a witness signature for mailed-in ballots.
The South Carolina Democratic Party brought a lawsuit against the state election commission, challenging the witness requirement as an undue burden on the right to vote. The district court agreed, highlighting that “evidence in the record points to the conclusion that adherence to the Witness Requirement in June would only increase the risk for contracting COVID-19 for members of the public with underlying medical conditions, the disabled, and racial and ethnic minorities.” The district court also pointed out the witness requirement would apply to those who contracted COVID-19. Thus, an infected person who sought a witness would also put that person in danger.
The Supreme Court stayed the district court’s injunction. In a concurrence to the order, Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted the stay was appropriate for two reasons. First, the court generally should defer to the judgment of states in addressing public health and safety needs. Second, Kavanaugh noted that the court should avoid changing election rules close to an election.
Despite staying the district court’s injunction, the Supreme Court’s order concluded that the ballots received prior to its order and up to two days after should still be accepted even without witness signatures. These ballots were submitted while the district court’s injunction was still in place. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from that part of the order.
