Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a55_dc8e.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2020) 

1 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 20A55  
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MARCI ANDINO, ET AL. v. KYLON MIDDLETON, ET AL. 

ON APPLICATION FOR STAY 

[October 5, 2020] 

  The application for stay presented to THE CHIEF JUSTICE 
and by him referred to the Court is granted in part, and the 
district court’s September 18, 2020 order granting a prelim-
inary injunction is stayed pending disposition of the appeal 
in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 
and disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, if such 
writ is timely sought.  Should the petition for a writ of cer-
tiorari  be  denied,  this  stay  shall  terminate  automatically.  
In the event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, 
the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judg-
ment of this Court. 
  The order is stayed except to the extent that any ballots 
cast before this stay issues and received within two days of 
this order may not be rejected for failing to comply with the 
witness requirement. 
  JUSTICE THOMAS, JUSTICE ALITO, and JUSTICE GORSUCH 
would grant the application in full. 
  JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, concurring in grant of application 
for stay. 
  The District Court enjoined South Carolina’s witness re-
quirement for absentee ballots because the court disagreed 
with the State’s decision to retain that requirement during 
the  COVID–19  pandemic.    For  two  alternative  and  inde-
pendent reasons, I agree with this Court’s order staying in 
part the District Court’s injunction. 
  First,  the  Constitution  “principally  entrusts  the  safety