Thursday’s order is a loss to the Republican National Committee, which the court had asked to step in after lower courts decided to abide by the new absentee ballot rules. The requirement of witnesses was eliminated in the wake of the pandemic, and applied to absentee ballots during the state’s re-established presidency on June 2.
The order was not signed. Judges Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have accepted the RNC’s request for a stay.
In their submission to the Supreme Court, Republicans argued that the pandemic would not prevent voters from getting signatures from witnesses or a notary.
“That task is not unusually difficult – certainly not more difficult than getting a photo ID,” the party’s filing explained.
“Witnesses can be family, friends, colleagues, congressmen, teachers, waiters, bartenders, gymnasts, neighbors, grocers, and more. And every bank, credit union, UPS, and FedEx has a notary,” it added.
The decision to extend the elimination of the witness requirement for the general election came as part of an agreement between the democratically-run state government and a group of voters who brought a lawsuit asking that the rule be awaited during the pandemic.
In a ruling last week, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider the claim of witnesses.
The Supreme Court found that since state officials in Rhode Island agreed to lower the requirements for witnesses to absentee ballots, Republicans challenging the new rules have not had enough reason to stop the ballots from being sent out.
Rhode Island is scheduled to begin sending out absentee ballots to residents on Friday ahead of their primary election in September.
Under Rhode Island law, any voter can request an absent vote and they are not required to list a reason.
.
