BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Republicans to block voting accommodations in Wisconsin. The vote is 5-3.
Justices Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor dissent.
Unlike recent emergency orders, the justices file 35 pages of opinions explaining their positions.
The applications involve a district-court order extending the deadline for the receipt of mail-in ballots by six days. The 7th circuit blocked this remedy on appeal, and now five justices agree the state gets to run the election as it chooses—pandemic or no.
Justice Kagan, joined by Breyer and Sotomayor, dissent passionately.
The dissent quotes Justice Ginsburg's dissent in a similar decision involving the Wisconsin primary from March—at the very moment that Amy Coney Barrett is being confirmed for her seat.
There are three other opinions: a very brief concurrence from Chief Justice Roberts (below) and lengthy concurrences from Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh
CJ Roberts's opinion clarifies the diff btw this deadline extension in WI and the extension he voted to permit in PA a week ago today: it's fine for a state court to enforce its state constitutional provision protecting the right to vote, but a federal court cannot meddle.
BREAKING: Supreme Court *rejects* Pennsylvania Republicans’ second attempt to block extended ballot deadline.
[correcting earlier tweet]: there are no dissents, but Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas file a heated statement lamenting that the litigation got this far.
WOW: the Alito, Gorsuch & Thomas statement also indicates the PA petition could be re-considered AFTER the election and ballots could be thrown out THEN
NEW at SCOTUS: yet another emergency request from the GOP to block pandemic-related voting accommodations. This time in North Carolina.
This request comes in a different posture from recent Republican requests, as it pits the GOP state legislature against the state board of elections, which entered into a consent judgement with advocacy groups pushing for the voting accommodations.
At issue: waived postmark and witness requirements and and an extended receipt deadline for mail-in ballots.
If you're wondering why CJ Roberts voted to reinstate the ban on curbside voting in Alabama tonight but voted to *permit* a voting accommodation in Pennsylvania on Monday...
The common denominator seems to be federalism: let the states run their elections as they choose.
Of course, it's a little more complicated than that.
In PA, SCOTUS refused to block a ruling from the state supreme court that extended (contrary to the legislature's wish) the deadline for mail-in ballots under the right-to-vote provision of the state constitution.