They just upheld (5-4) Mississippi’s law allowing for the counting of absentee ballots postmarked by election day even when received after election day.
During my military career, I voted by absentee ballot often in TX and national elections.
I hate to think that any ballot I submitted and was postmarked on time wouldn’t be counted just because the postal service didn’t get it delivered on time.
Now if it wasn’t postmarked on time, I can understand. But if a voter has done due dillgence and gotten their ballot in the mail on time, their vote should count.
Sarcasm aside, it’s because I love my country so much that I want the votes of the people that defend our country to be counted, especially when servicemembers have them sent in by election day, and most especially when their home state’s laws specifically provide for that, as in this case.
But of course, I don’t limit that merely to servicemembers or even overseas service members.
If Mississippi’s laws say that anyone can comply by having their absentee ballots postmarked by election day, even non-servicemembers, I’m cool with that also.
Now if a state wants to put tighter restrictions on absentee ballots than that, I’ll have to look at those on a case by case basis. I can tolerate some fairly tight restrictions up to a point.
But I’m inclined to think that all states should follow rules similar to MS in this regard, and when a state has such rules, I see no reason the feds or anybody else can come in a call that illegal or unjust/unfair. Good call by the USSC in that regard.
The SAVE act would limit this very thing. There are exceptions for overseas soldiers I believe, but their votes won’t really count if the “purpose” is to get election results faster.
