Breaking: Supreme Court turns down the Republican National Committee's challenge to Rhode Island absentee ballot rule change.

"The Supreme Court will not intervene in a legal fight concerning absentee ballots in Rhode Island, meaning the state's order removing a requirement that absentee ballots must be signed by two witnesses or a notary public will stand. Thursday's order is a loss for the Republican National Committee, which had asked the court to step in after lower courts ruled to uphold the new absentee ballot rules." (CNN)

• What's happening: The Supreme Court ruled against the Republican National Committee's challenge to Rhode Island's last-minute change to its own absentee (mail-in) voting process.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas all noted their dissent, i.e. disagreement with the decision, which suggests a 6-3 decision.

Here are the facts of this emergency Supreme Court case, as SCOTUSBlog, which solely covers Supreme Court cases, explained well. In summary:

(1) Rhode Island law usually requires that voters submitting a ballot by mail (i.e. voting absentee) sign the ballot in the presence of two witnesses or a notary.

(2) After a legal challenge from outside groups, the Rhode Island Secretary of State said the witness requirement would be dropped for upcoming elections due to COVID-19. That means you could mail in a ballot in the presidential election without following the normal rules.

(3) The Republican National Committee and the state GOP appealed the decision all the way up to the Supreme Court, which ruled against them. This means Rhode Island's changes will stand.

• What's at stake: The 2020 election. This case removed a ballot integrity protection that the state (and its Democratic governor!) already had in place.

This decision both sets the rules for Rhode Island and could be used as a legal precedent in other states -- and potentially affect what happens cross the country.

The Republican National Committee and state GOP got their case all the way up to the Supreme Court based on a similar case from Alabama that the Court considered earlier this year.

• What else to know: This isn't just happening in Rhode Island. Outside groups have filed lawsuits in other states -- including, recently, in the key swing state of Ohio -- to drop or reduce existing ballot protection measures.

Liberal political group sending "potentially misleading" mailings, unrequested absentee ballot applications to voters across the country.

"A liberal political organization is sending hundreds of thousands of mail-in and absentee ballot applications to voters across the country in an apparent attempt to promote the voting method in states not automatically mailing the ballot applications themselves. The 'potentially misleading' mailings, which contain legitimate ballot applications but at first glance appear to many recipients to be from an official government source, have confused voters and peeved election officials." (Washington Examiner)

• What's happening: Here's a good overview from the Washington Examiner of the the low-profile nonprofit named the Center for Voter Information. Yesterday, we shared how they mailed out more than 500,000 incorrect absentee ballot applications.

Today we saw another story: a Florida county elections office claiming the Center for Voter Information's efforts in their state is "eroding voter confidence," as The Suncoast News reported. That's because, like in Virginia in other states, the Florida absentee ballots were not requested by voters.

• What's at stake: In every election, organizations work hard to register voters and get out the vote, i.e. encourage people to vote on Election Day. That's regularly conducted -- and important! -- work. But even given that, we think this story is interesting.

(1) The name and self-description of the Center for Voter Information are vague -- even generic -- but some reporters have found that it's a left-leaning group.

-- NBC12 reported that "a job posting lists the organization as a 'progressive' group"

-- the Washington Examiner reported that "when the Center for Voter Information has spent on specific election activities reportable to the Federal Elections Commission, it did so in favor of Democratic candidates and in opposition to Republicans"

-- and the Washington Examiner also reported that Democratic primary candidate Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate group donated more than $400,000 to the group in June

(2) The Center for Voter Information has reportedly mailed unrequested absentee ballot applications to voters in multiple battleground states, including:

-- Florida (reported by The Suncoast News)

-- Ohio (reported by ABC6)

-- North Carolina (reported by WCNC)

-- Virginia

-- and maybe more

(3) In some states, the Center for Voter Information is sending absentee ballot applications to voters with some information (e.g. name or address) pre-filled.

The Suncoast News in Florida reported that's concerning voters. "Voters react defensively and suspiciously to mail that misspells their name and is seemingly tied to their actual voter registration," the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections explained in their story.

And voters have also reported receiving ballots for their pets, their children, or even deceased people.

As the same county elections supervisor told Orlando Weekly, "While it’s amusing to reference that Fluffy the dog got a pre-filled ballot, it’s not funny when a voter whose husband or wife passed away."

• What else to know: Earlier this year, the North Carolina Board of Elections issued a press release about the group's first mailings in North Carolina; those violated a new state law and future mailings were corrected.

AOC invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention ... in a 60-second pre-recorded video.

"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be given just 60 seconds to deliver a pre-recorded message at the Democratic National Convention next week. The party’s progressive firebrand has been afforded the limited role while Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, will get to deliver live, virtual speeches at the coronavirus-revamped event, Business Insider reported Wednesday." (New York Post)

• What's happening: The full speaker line-up for next week's Democratic National Convention has been released -- and it's not flattering for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Though AOC was finally given a role, it's to deliver one 60-second, pre-recorded video speech.

• What's at stake: Though the media won't talk about it, the Democratic Party is deeply divided, and there were previous rumors of a progressive "convention rebellion."

Both Bernie Sanders and AOC have speaking roles, but their influence seems to be intentionally blunted. 

Sanders will speak the same night as John Kasich, a former GOP presidential candidate and governor, and AOC just gets a short video appearance that the DNC will, theoretically, approve since it's pre-recorded.

This may keep in-fighting at bay during the convention, but it won't help Joe Biden's campaign this fall. He needs the votes of Bernie supporters, but he needs to balance courting the far-left progressives with not losing moderate voters in the November election.

• What else to know: The convention speeches are just the latest example of the deep divide in the Democratic Party.

Progressives are also reportedly outraged by his pick of Kamala Harris as VP, with comments like how it's a "middle finger to progressives" and shows "contempt for the base" per Fox News' reporting.

Not a joke (but it sounds like one): Biden's potential VP picks asked what nickname President Trump would give them.

"Candidates on presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s list of potential running mates were reportedly asked what they thought President Trump would nickname them if they were given the gig. According to The Wall Street Journal, candidates on Biden’s list were asked the question by his search committee as part of the months-long vetting process." (The Hill)

• What's happening: Too ridiculous for satire: Biden's search committee reportedly asked VP candidates what nickname they thought President Trump would use for them. We wonder if Kamala Harris guessed "phony"!

• What's at stake: It's not nearly as important as the other stories today ... but it's far funnier.

This also shows that Democrats expect President Trump to define the debate -- and the candidates -- in the 2020 election as he did in the 2016 presidential race. (There's even an entire Wikipedia page devoted to nicknames created by President Trump.)

That shows the advantage that President Trump will is expected to have heading into the presidential debates.