The Vote And Voting Problems, Pre-Election Day 2020
Supreme Court Has Sided With Republicans In Wisconsin Election Lawsuit
We just got an answer to one of our six “unresolved questions” from earlier. In a 5-3 ruling along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that absentee ballots in Wisconsin must be received by Election Day, not just postmarked by then. Voting-rights groups had been fighting for a receipt date of Nov. 9.
The Election Laws That Are Still Unresolved
Happy Monday! Only eight days remain until Election Day 2020 — and thanks to ongoing litigation, the exact rules of the election are still up in the air in a handful of states. Here are the major court cases yet to be resolved:
- Republicans are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a legal settlement reached by North Carolina to extend the absentee-ballot receipt deadline to Nov. 12.
- The Supreme Court already allowed Pennsylvania’s new absentee-ballot deadline (postmarked by Nov. 3, received by Nov. 6) to stand, but Republicans have initiated a new lawsuit against it — possibly with the goal of having the Supreme Court reconsider the matter after Amy Coney Barrett has been sworn in.
- Voting-rights groups are also asking the Supreme Court to allow Wisconsin to count ballots that arrive after Nov. 3 as long as they are postmarked by then.
- Republicans are appealing a court ruling that affirmed Minnesota’s new rule that absentee ballots can count if they’re received as late as Nov. 10 (assuming they’re postmarked by Nov. 3).
- The Texas Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that counties can have no more than one ballot drop site each.
- And New Orleans is suing the state of Louisiana to allow absentee ballots to be dropped off at sites other than local election offices.
We should get a final word on these questions very soon.
Weekend Update: Maine Ballots Must Be Received By Election Day
Apologies for interrupting everyone’s Saturday, but one quick update from Maine: It hasn’t been getting as much attention as other states, but there had also been a lawsuit pending in Maine to extend the deadline for absentee ballots to be received from Nov. 3 to Nov. 13. Late yesterday, however, the Maine Supreme Court upheld the state’s requirement that all ballots must be received by Election Day. That’s likely to be the final say on the matter.