WASHINGTON — A pending case at the US Supreme Court could put an end to delayed ballot counts — like in the recent Los Angeles mayor’s race in California — that have caused voters to lose confidence in elections, according to Republicans.
The high court in March heard oral arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee, a Mississippi case that may result in a ruling stopping the practice of counting mail-in ballots that arrive up to five days after an election date.
It’s one of at least 14 states, along with California, New York and Texas, as well as the District of Columbia, with laws that allow for late ballots so long as envelopes are postmarked by Election Day. Around 30 states have some sort of grace period for absentee ballots as well, letting military or US citizens abroad cast their votes.
That grace period for mail ballots, which the RNC has argued is unconstitutional, is one of the reasons that Los Angeles residents still don’t know, nearly a week after, whether candidates Spencer Pratt or Nithya Raman will advance to a runoff contest in November against incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Read More on New York Post