A woman wearing gloves drops off a mail-in ballot at a drop box in Hackensack, N.J., on July 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
"What this case is about is whether a ballot that was cast on or before Election Day, sealed in an envelope, placed in the U.S. Mail and received by a state some days later can be counted if a state law says that that's okay," Becker told Fox News Digital.
Mississippi’s rule went into effect in 2020, when many states implemented new emergency election policies over COVID-19. Well over a dozen, both red and blue, accept late mail-in ballots if they are postmarked by Election Day.
The RNC sued over the law and secured a win at the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, leading Mississippi to bring the matter to the Supreme Court. The state argues "election" means voters' final choice, which occurs when ballots are cast by Election Day. Receipt of ballots that are marked and submitted effectuates the voters' choice but are "not part of the election itself," Mississippi told the Supreme Court in a filing. As such, the state argues, federal law does not prohibit short, post-Election Day windows to receive ballots cast on time.
Allegheny County workers scan mail-in and absentee ballots at the Allegheny County Election Division Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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"Allowing states to count large numbers of mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day undermines trust and confidence in our elections," Gruters said.
"Elections must end on Election Day, which is why the RNC led the way in challenging this harmful state law. The RNC has been hard at work litigating this case for nearly two years, and we hope the Supreme Court will affirm the Fifth Circuit’s landmark decision that mail-in ballots received after Election Day cannot be counted."
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rnc-gets-day-supreme-court-challenge-late-arriving-mail-ballots