The United States Supreme Court on Monday handed an unanimous legal victory to the Republican National Committee, who challenged South Carolina election officials for removing a requirement to prevent voter fraud. In order to mail-in a ballot, a voter had to have a signature accompany theirs, verifying that the person who voted was actually the person who received the ballot.
The High Court's decision overturned an Appellate Court decision that allowed the requirement to be removed. Lower courts were effectively removing this requirement, citing the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
“Tonight’s victory is a significant win for South Carolina voters as the Supreme Court agreed that witness verifications are an important part of protecting the integrity of the vote. While Democrats continue to try and wreak havoc on our elections systems and open the door to fraud and ballot manipulation, Republicans are fighting back – and we are winning," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. "The RNC and its Republican allies will continue to meet Democrats in court to ensure that all Americans can be confident in our elections.”
Chairwoman McDaniel took to Twitter to celebrate the news:
The Supreme Court just handed Republicans and the voters of South Carolina a huge victory for election integrity!
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 6, 2020
Democrats had sued the state to strip away an important safeguard for absentee voting, but the Court ruled against them with no Justices issuing dissents. (1/3)
This win follows Republicans’ victory in the lower courts, where Democrats’ lost in their attempts to extend the state’s Election Day delivery deadline and eliminate the state’s ban on ballot harvesting. (2/3)
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 6, 2020
This is the SIXTH win for Republicans in roughly the last week following major victories in Iowa, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire and Arizona.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) October 6, 2020
The RNC will not stop fighting to https://t.co/tidEkbV9KS (3/3)
South Carolina is the latest state to handle a legal victory to Republicans. The Palmetto State joins Arizona, Maine, Georgia, New Hampshire and Iowa as states that have sided with Republicans on election integrity laws.
