US Supreme Court to hear mail-in ballot case on Monday

By Andrew Rice | center square

(meaningful news) – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a resulting case to determine whether states can accept and count mail-in ballots after Election Day.

The case, Watson v. RNC, challenges a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be received up to five days after Election Day, as long as the ballot is marked Election Day. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia also allow mail-in ballots to be received after Election Day.

Jason Sneed, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, said the case will provide an opportunity to make mail-in ballot laws uniform across the country.

“Federal law clearly states that ballots must be received by Election Day,” Sneed told The Center Square. “Despite this, states continue to allow absentee ballots to be cast with delays of days or even weeks.”

In Illinois, mail-in ballots can be received up to 14 days after Election Day. RNC lawyers argued that the federal government sets a date for federal elections and that all ballots must be available to be counted by that date.

Lisa Dixon, executive director of the Center for Election Confidence, said delays in mail-in ballot receipt deadlines have become more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the ruling in favor of the RNC would still allow states to accept late mail-in ballots for non-federal elections.

Mississippi lawyers have argued that maintaining strict receipt deadlines would jeopardize ballots for military and overseas voters. However, passage of the Uniformed and Alien Citizens Voting Act by Congress established requirements for states to mail absentee ballots 45 days before a federal election.

“Congress has spoken in that area and created a system of law that is certainly separate from the federal Election Day statute,” Dixon said.

In December, the U.S. Postal Service changed its postmark policy so that the date reflected appears when the mail first arrives at the processing facility, rather than when it is dropped off. Dixon said this aspect of the case could be sufficient grounds for a claim of disenfranchised voters.

“Unfortunately there is a real risk of disenfranchisement of voters who drop off their ballot close to Election Day and assume it will be marked as normal,” Dixon said. “States haven’t really begun to grapple with this and its impact on voters yet.”

Dixon acknowledged that the court could distinguish between overseas voters and domestic mail-in ballot voters.

Dixon said, “To the extent that the court wants to maintain the status quo, I would also see them being reluctant to disrupt the entire system of American law that governs military voters and overseas voters.”

Despite possible exceptions, Sneed thinks the court will likely strike down Mississippi’s late receipt deadline for mail-in ballots. He said strict mail-in ballot receipts are popular with the American public.

When asked, according to a new survey shared with The Center Square, 78% of American voters said that requiring ballots to be received by election officials at the end of Election Day would make elections more secure.

The survey was conducted by CRC Research for the Honest Elections Project between March 12–17 and included 1,600 likely voters across the country. Of those surveyed, 90% of likely Republican voters said that requiring ballots to be received by election officials by the end of Election Day would make elections more secure. About 77% of independent voters and 68% of Democrat voters agreed.

Going a step further, the survey found that 59% of voters said they would not trust the results of elections that count ballots received after polls close on Election Day. Nearly 60% of voters said counting ballots received after polls close on Election Day makes it easier to cheat.

“What you want to see is at the end of the voting period, the polls close on Election Day, you know how many votes were cast,” Sneed said. “The absolute maximum number of votes should be determined at the close of voting.”

Although the judge will hear arguments on Monday, he is not likely to issue a decision until June.

Sneed does not anticipate that the timing of the decision will affect the upcoming midterm elections. He urged advocacy groups to educate voters on possible mail-in ballot changes based on the court’s decision.

“Federal law is clear: All ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted,” Sneed said. “The Supreme Court has a prime opportunity to keep it easy to vote and harder to cheat by upholding the rule of law and making sure that ‘Election Day’ means Election Day.”

Reprinted with permission from Center Square.

lift it up in prayer

9

People are praying right now.

latest lol news