Yesterday I mentioned on our radio program that the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) would likely announce its ruling on the vote-by-mail issue, specifically regarding counting ballots after election day.
Well, they did.
They ruled that state laws allowing the counting of mail-in ballots after Election Day do not violate federal law, a blow to the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump's response: And guess who voted with the Leftists on the Supreme Court.
Be informed, not misled.
Via Breitbart:
SCOTUS issued a 5-4 ruling that permits states to count mail-in ballots — sent on or before election day — that are received by state election officials after election day.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett disappointed conservatives again by writing the majority’s opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts as well as Leftist Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Two principles are important here. First, post-election-day receipt, considered on its own, does not conflict with the election-day statutes,” the Court writes:
Second, state law is preempted by the federal election-day statutes only “so far as the conflict extends.” So even if plaintiffs are right about Mississippi law, they would still lose the challenge they have pressed in this litigation: that post-election-day ballot receipt is itself unlawful.
The Framers recognized the difficulty of crafting election laws “applicable to every probable change in the situation of the country.” So instead of constitutionalizing election law, they decided that “a discretionary power over elections” needed to be lodged “somewhere.” Suffice it to say that power was not lodged in this Court. The election-day statutes say nothing about ballot receipt, and we cannot add to the words Congress chose.
Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined most of the dissenting opinion as well.
“The Court … concludes that the election-day statutes merely require that each individual cast a vote on or before election day,” Alito writes for the minority:
"But if that is all that the election-day statutes require, there is no sense in which the electorate as a whole can be seen as making its choice on election day. Rather, the electorate’s choice would be made piecemeal over an extended period prior to election day, and that prospect is blatantly contrary to what the election-day statutes demand."
"Election day is a specified date, not a span of multiple days. The election-day statutes require that federal elections occur on that date. Under the challenged Mississippi law, however, the collection of ballots continues for five more days, and therefore the “election” is not held until the end of that period. Because federal law requires that the election occur on election day, it preempts Mississippi’s statute."
President Trump responds to Supreme Court ruling.
President Donald Trump took the high road, calling the Republican National Committee’s Supreme Court loss on Monday “tremendous,” and he used it as an opportunity to push for the SAVE America Act once again.
The president wrote on Truth Social that “it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” which includes documentary proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration and limits for mail-in ballots, with workarounds if somebody is disabled, ill, traveling, or deployed.
“The House of Representatives has approved this vital Act, THREE TIMES,” Trump added, before saying that the Senate “seems unable to do so.”
“In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. There can be no more excuses,” he wrote.
Concerns
There are a number of concerns about the Court's ruling on such an important issue as voting integrity.
A voter from Oregon reminds the Court that in his state, people generally put their ballots in drop boxes. There is no postmark on the ballots.
Takeaway
What is Election Day? That was one of the issues before the Supreme Court regarding mail-in ballots.
I believe that Roberts and Coney Barrett got it wrong when they joined the Leftists on the Court.
Citizens are losing confidence in our elections.
If we don't have confidence in those elections, what's left of our democratic republic?
When Ben Franklin was famously asked, "What kind of government have you given us?" He answered, "A republic, if you can keep it."
This is a time of testing. Can we keep it?
Following the Supreme Court's decision Monday morning, the RNC issued this statement:
If we want fair and secure elections, Election Day should mean exactly what it says, which is why this decision makes it even more imperative that Congress pass the SAVE America Act," said RNC Chairman Joe Gruters. "Democrats are inviting chaos at the ballot box by allowing elections to drag on for days and weeks after voters cast their ballots. Republicans are not going to be deterred by this decision, and the RNC will keep fighting to have elections end on Election Day as Americans want.
What is an acceptable timeframe to accept mail-in ballots? The federal statute is clear: they must be received by Election Day, not days afterward. The COVID pandemic is over; these silly laws allowing hordes of ballots to be accepted and counted after Election Day must end.
Or we, like Rome, will collapse from within.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Bold. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.