US Supreme Court rules on mail-in ballots—
The US Supreme Court took the steam out of President Trump’s attempt to derail mail-in ballots before the midterm elections this fall. The high court handed down a ruling today upholding states’ rights to count mail ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and received within a period established by state law. The vote was 5-4.
The case involved Mississippi, which counts mail ballots with the proper postmark and received within five days of the Election. Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said: “… the election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt, so they do not prevent Mississippi from counting ballots postmarked before election day yet received afterward.”
The Republican National Committee and other challengers insisted that federal law, which calls for a designated Election Day, required that all ballots be collected on that day. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito agreed with that argument. Despite voting by mail in Florida, President Trump has raged against the practice for the general public. Trump’s claims, without citing evidence, that mail-in ballots are a huge source of cheating and fraud. Trump and his supporters want the practice to be restricted for special circumstances, like when a voter is traveling, in the military, or ill, or for some reason, unable to vote in the district where they are registered.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk issued a news release today saying “The ruling affirms California’s existing ballot receipt deadline and requires no changes to how elections are conducted in L.A. County–now or in future elections.” So this means mail-in ballots with postmarks before or on Election Day will be counted if received within 7 days in Los Angeles County, which also aligns with California law.
