There will be just one Election Day for this fall's midterm elections—Nov. 3. But voters in 14 states who cast their votes by mail will be given a grace period ranging from a day later to several weeks in which their ballots can be received and counted. Whether that extra time should be allowed is at the heart of a case that will be argued Monday before the US Supreme Court. If the high court strikes down those grace periods, it will leave those states—and their voters—scrambling to adjust with only a few months before absentee ballots are sent out for this fall's midterm elections, per the AP.
All 50 states require ballots to be cast or postmarked on or before Election Day. The 14 states with grace periods for regular ballots accept and count mailed ballots for periods ranging from a single day after the election in Texas to 21 days afterward in Washington state. The implications could extend well beyond those states, depending on how the court ultimately rules. A total of 29 states allow for the late arrival of military and overseas ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Voting Rights Lab.
In a filing with the court, a group of state and big-city election officials cited "the risks of confusion and disenfranchisement" if mail ballot grace periods were ended suddenly in states where voters have counted on them for years. The practice of counting ballots after Election Day has long been a target of President Trump since he sought to "STOP THE COUNT" after the 2020 election. He and his allies argue it delays results and leads to suspicions about the vote tallies, part of his broader attack on most mail balloting, which he has said breeds fraud despite findings to the contrary and years of experience in numerous states. Grace period supporters told the court that striking them down could create chaos and confusion in this year's midterm elections.
"State legislatures have recognized this issue and set election deadlines that balance the interests of canvassing speed and ballot security depending on the specific needs of each individual state," a group of local election officials and local governments told the court. The groups said eliminating grace periods could affect ballot verification activities, provisional ballot processing, and the processing of military and overseas ballots that often happens after Election Day. A Brookings Institution study late last year found that mail voting was a practical, secure way to expand voter access, with about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots. It was an option used by about 30% of voters across the US during the 2024 presidential election. More here.
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