During oral arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee, right-wing Supreme Court Justices signaled they may strike down state laws allowing ballots postmarked before Election Day to be counted after polls close.
Conservative justices questioned the validity of grace period provisions, with Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh appearing particularly skeptical of mail voting.
Over 750,000 late-arriving ballots were counted under such laws in 2024 alone.
Legal analyst Mark Joseph Stern warned that eliminating these provisions across 30 states could cause "chaos in the upcoming midterms," disproportionately impacting Democratic voters. Stern criticized the justices for embracing "incoherent" legal theories rooted in unfounded voter fraud conspiracy theories.
Alito questioned whether courts should consider the "appearance of fraud," though Stern argued this logic weaponizes baseless fraud claims against otherwise valid voting rules, potentially creating a "cheat code" to invalidate election laws.
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