Answering Reader Questions On Deadlines For Law Changes
Iain from the United Kingdom: As a Brit, I find it just bizarre that so many changes can be made by the state court system so close to an election. In the U.K., we have the electoral commission and they have to close on the “rules” a chunk of time ahead of the election. Is there an equivalent in the U.S., or are the individual states and governors still able to change the rules right up to the election? (This reader question has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
The short answer is no, there is no federal law or commission that sets a date by which all states must finalize their election procedures.
The long answer is one of FiveThirtyEight’s favorites: It’s complicated. While there are no firm guidelines for states, there is a legal principle, known as the Purcell principle, that says courts ought to avoid issuing orders that change election rules right before an election in order to avoid confusing voters and creating logistical challenges for election officials. Of course, that’s pretty vague! And not all courts will necessarily interpret this principle in the same way.
But we’ve already seen the Supreme Court and some lower courts invoke the Purcell principle this year. For instance, the day before Wisconsin’s April 7 primary, the Supreme Court struck down a district court ruling extending the deadline by which absentee ballots could arrive, stating “that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” And earlier this week, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district judge’s order that Indiana count absentee ballots that arrive through Nov. 13.
So while there’s no formal cutoff for changes, it’s fair to say that courts have been hesitant to affirm decisions that lead to major rule changes close to elections. This will certainly not be universally true — just this month, a Virginia judge said the state had to extend its voter registration deadline after its online portal crashed on the day of the initial deadline — but it is definitely something to keep in mind as the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on cases from Alabama, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and perhaps Texas.