Voting Rights and Democracy
“Myths Around Election Day Deadlines: What the Civil War Teaches Us About Absentee Voting”
This Term, the Court is considering yet another effort to roll back voting access in Watson v. Republican National Committee. This case arises out of the Fifth Circuit, where a three-judge panel struck down a Mississippi law that allows election officials to count ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five business days later. The law ensures that voters who cast their ballot on time are not disenfranchised due to postal delays or delivery complications that occur through no fault of their own. But the stakes extend far beyond Mississippi’s borders: at least 29 states and D.C. have similar statutes accepting mail-in ballots received shortly after Election Day.
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