WASHINGTON, D.C. – As California continues counting ballots weeks after Election Day, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to rule on the RNC's landmark election integrity case, Watson v. RNC, that could determine whether Election Day remains the nation's final ballot deadline.
"California
is not the only state with trouble counting votes on time.
"On
Friday, New Jersey finished counting in the state’s 9th Congressional District
Republican primary, and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino defeated Tiffany
Burress to advance to a November faceoff against Democrat incumbent Rep. Nellie
Pou, The Associated Press reported.
"While
California received national attention for slow-arriving mail votes that
flipped the outcome of the Los Angeles mayoral primary election, New Jersey is
among at least 17 states and the District of Columbia that keep counting mail
ballots arriving after Election Day. At least two states allow ballots to
arrive up to two weeks after Election Day.
"Across
the nation, in previous years, ballot counts have dragged out because of
permissive state laws. However, a highly anticipated Supreme Court ruling could
change that.
"The
U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month in a case that could mitigate
the likelihood of taking weeks to know who won an election. In the case of
Republican National Committee v. Michael Watson, the Mississippi secretary of
state, justices will essentially decide if Election Day is the final deadline
for votes to arrive. Mississippi counts votes that arrive up to five days after
Election Day.
"A
majority of justices seemed favorable to the RNC during the oral arguments in
March.
"'Nearly a week after
the primary, it is completely unacceptable that ballots are still being
counted,' RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a public statement earlier this
week, referring to California. 'That’s why the RNC is aggressively fighting in
the Supreme Court to stop ballots received after Election Day from being
counted. Americans deserve timely election results they can trust.'”
