RNC tells Supreme Court to strike down late-arriving ballot laws
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The Republican National Committee urged the Supreme Court this week to strike down laws that allow states to count late-arriving mail-in ballots, ahead of the midterm election later this year.
The Supreme Court will hear the case Watson v. RNC on March 23, in which Mississippi’s law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted up to five days later will be under the microscope. The RNC argued in its brief, submitted ahead of arguments, that federal law sets Election Day as the deadline for ballots to be submitted, and that states cannot extend that deadline by enacting late-arriving ballot laws.
“When Congress designated a single ‘day for the election,’ it set a deadline. If a state law extends the election after that deadline, ‘it conflicts with’ Congress’s timing decision ‘and to that extent is void,'” the RNC’s brief to the high court said.
“Since ‘the election concludes when all ballots are received,’ the Fifth Circuit held that Mississippi’s law allowing some late-arriving ballots to be counted is void,” the brief continued.
The RNC also pushed back on Mississippi’s claims that the Election Day set by Congress is the deadline for voters to cast their ballots, rather than a deadline for election officials to receive those ballots.
“Their theory suffers from another flaw too: it makes these preemptive statutes preempt nothing. The parties agree that in setting the uniform election day Congress directed when States could conduct federal elections,” the RNC said in its brief. “But under the Secretary’s and Intervenors’ theory, the ‘election’ is whatever each State says it is. Nothing prevents a State from allowing voters to deliver ballots after the election in whatever manner the States see fit, so long they ‘make their final “choice” on or before that day.'”
“If the election-day statutes say nothing about what must be done on election day, they say nothing at all,” the brief continued. “The Fifth Circuit rightly held that the ‘day for the election’ has a fixed meaning. It doesn’t mean whatever each State wants it to mean. It means the day by which ballots must be ‘received by state officials.'”
The case is expected to have sweeping ramifications for the roughly dozen states with similar late-arriving ballot laws. Opponents of late-arriving ballot laws point to the federal law setting Election Day on a specific date. They also stress how counting ballots that roll in after that deadline undermines public confidence in …
Why resist verification?
The Republican National Committee urged the Supreme Court this week to strike down laws that allow states to count late-arriving mail-in ballots, ahead of the midterm election later this year.
The Supreme Court will hear the case Watson v. RNC on March 23, in which Mississippi’s law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted up to five days later will be under the microscope. The RNC argued in its brief, submitted ahead of arguments, that federal law sets Election Day as the deadline for ballots to be submitted, and that states cannot extend that deadline by enacting late-arriving ballot laws.
“When Congress designated a single ‘day for the election,’ it set a deadline. If a state law extends the election after that deadline, ‘it conflicts with’ Congress’s timing decision ‘and to that extent is void,'” the RNC’s brief to the high court said.
“Since ‘the election concludes when all ballots are received,’ the Fifth Circuit held that Mississippi’s law allowing some late-arriving ballots to be counted is void,” the brief continued.
The RNC also pushed back on Mississippi’s claims that the Election Day set by Congress is the deadline for voters to cast their ballots, rather than a deadline for election officials to receive those ballots.
“Their theory suffers from another flaw too: it makes these preemptive statutes preempt nothing. The parties agree that in setting the uniform election day Congress directed when States could conduct federal elections,” the RNC said in its brief. “But under the Secretary’s and Intervenors’ theory, the ‘election’ is whatever each State says it is. Nothing prevents a State from allowing voters to deliver ballots after the election in whatever manner the States see fit, so long they ‘make their final “choice” on or before that day.'”
“If the election-day statutes say nothing about what must be done on election day, they say nothing at all,” the brief continued. “The Fifth Circuit rightly held that the ‘day for the election’ has a fixed meaning. It doesn’t mean whatever each State wants it to mean. It means the day by which ballots must be ‘received by state officials.'”
The case is expected to have sweeping ramifications for the roughly dozen states with similar late-arriving ballot laws. Opponents of late-arriving ballot laws point to the federal law setting Election Day on a specific date. They also stress how counting ballots that roll in after that deadline undermines public confidence in …
RNC tells Supreme Court to strike down late-arriving ballot laws
Why resist verification?
The Republican National Committee urged the Supreme Court this week to strike down laws that allow states to count late-arriving mail-in ballots, ahead of the midterm election later this year.
The Supreme Court will hear the case Watson v. RNC on March 23, in which Mississippi’s law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted up to five days later will be under the microscope. The RNC argued in its brief, submitted ahead of arguments, that federal law sets Election Day as the deadline for ballots to be submitted, and that states cannot extend that deadline by enacting late-arriving ballot laws.
“When Congress designated a single ‘day for the election,’ it set a deadline. If a state law extends the election after that deadline, ‘it conflicts with’ Congress’s timing decision ‘and to that extent is void,'” the RNC’s brief to the high court said.
“Since ‘the election concludes when all ballots are received,’ the Fifth Circuit held that Mississippi’s law allowing some late-arriving ballots to be counted is void,” the brief continued.
The RNC also pushed back on Mississippi’s claims that the Election Day set by Congress is the deadline for voters to cast their ballots, rather than a deadline for election officials to receive those ballots.
“Their theory suffers from another flaw too: it makes these preemptive statutes preempt nothing. The parties agree that in setting the uniform election day Congress directed when States could conduct federal elections,” the RNC said in its brief. “But under the Secretary’s and Intervenors’ theory, the ‘election’ is whatever each State says it is. Nothing prevents a State from allowing voters to deliver ballots after the election in whatever manner the States see fit, so long they ‘make their final “choice” on or before that day.'”
“If the election-day statutes say nothing about what must be done on election day, they say nothing at all,” the brief continued. “The Fifth Circuit rightly held that the ‘day for the election’ has a fixed meaning. It doesn’t mean whatever each State wants it to mean. It means the day by which ballots must be ‘received by state officials.'”
The case is expected to have sweeping ramifications for the roughly dozen states with similar late-arriving ballot laws. Opponents of late-arriving ballot laws point to the federal law setting Election Day on a specific date. They also stress how counting ballots that roll in after that deadline undermines public confidence in …
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