Supreme Court: States Can Accept Mail-in Ballots After Election Day
Supreme Court rules mail-in ballots can be accepted after Election Day.
The Supreme Court narrowly ruled mail-in ballots can be accepted by states after Election Day.
The court made the ruling Monday in a 5-4 vote, thereby turning down the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) move to defeat the practice, per The Hill.
There are more than a dozen states that accept mail-in ballots as long as they are postmarked by then.
Justice Amy Coney Barrettsaid it doesn’t go against federal law, which states “the Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November” as the “day for the election.”
“The election-day statutes say nothing about ballot receipt, and we cannot add to the words Congress chose,” Barrett wrote in her opinion.
She, Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices in the majority. The court’s four other conservative justices dissented.
This decision poses a new layer as the parties fight for control of Congress. The GOP wants to maintain its majorities in both chambers in November.
At the same time, it’s a loss for President Donald Trump, who has maintained votes should be counted on election night to prevent fraud.
The Justice Department supported the RNC’s challenge at the Supreme Court.
The issue has also evolved into Republicans turning on each other.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) has defended his state’s law of allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they arrive up to five business days after Election Day.
Mississippi is one of 14 states with similar election laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many of which are Democrat-controlled states like California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington. Four are not — Alaska, Nevada, Texas, West Virginia.
Mississippi’s defense received outside support from groups like the NAACP, League of Women Voters and the Democratic National Committee.
The RNC, which challenged the state’s law alongside the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, also received outside support. That support came from the House Republicans’ campaign arm and Citizens United and eight GOP-led states.
In March, Trump signed an executive order to restrict who can vote by mail.
This measure is currently in litigation in lower courts.