The Supreme Court will take up a case that will decide whether states can accept ballots after Election Day. The justices will hear Watson v. Republican National Committee, which seeks to uphold a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton announced that the “Supreme Court now has an opportunity to reaffirm that ‘Election Day’ means what it says under federal law.”
“Counting ballots received after Election Day not only violates federal law but encourages voter fraud and undermines voter confidence,” he said. “The Supreme Court should uphold the historic decision by the Fifth Circuit that sensibly concluded that counting ballots received after Election Day is unlawful.”
Last year, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that all mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day in order to be counted.“Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election’ of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors,” the judges wrote. “Text, precedent, and historical practice confirm this ‘day for the election’ is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials.”
“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day. And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days. The State’s contrary law is preempted,” the ruling read.
In an August filing to the Supreme Court, the Republican National Committee argued, “Many States can’t conclude their elections for weeks after election day because they’re still receiving ballots from voters. Weeks after the ‘day for the election’ has come and gone, the elections in those States continue.”
President Trump condemned mail-in voting on Truth Social in August, saying that the United States is the “only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting.”
