On September 24, the Fifth Circuit heard Republican National Committee v Wetzel, 24-60395. The issue is the Mississippi law that says postal ballots are valid if they arrive within five days after election day. The law requires that the ballots must have been mailed no later than election day. The U.S. District Court had upheld the law.
The Republican National Committee argues that the U.S. Constitution’s reference to “election day” means that all ballots must be in the hands of the election administrators by the end of election day. The three judges are James Ho, Kyle Duncan, and Andrew Oldham, all Trump appointees.
Here is a news story about the oral argument. It lasted one hour and 35 minutes, which is very unusual for a Circuit oral argument. Each side had been allotted 25 minutes, but the judges kept the argument going longer than that.
It’s ridiculous to have an “election day” where the results are not available that same evening.
Do you also disapprove of early voting?
MERE LAW
US CODE – TITLE 2
§7. Time of election
The Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year, is established as the day for the election, in each of the States and Territories of the United States, of Representatives and Delegates to the Congress commencing on the 3d day of January next thereafter.
(R.S. §25; Mar. 3, 1875, ch. 130, §6, 18 Stat. 400; June 5, 1934, ch. 390, §2, 48 Stat. 879.)
Editorial Notes
Codification
R.S. §25 derived from act Feb. 2, 1872, ch. 11, §3, 17 Stat. 28.
The second sentence of this section, which was based on section 6 of the act Mar. 3, 1875 and made this section inapplicable to any State that had not yet changed its day of election and whose constitution required an amendment to change the day of election of its State officers, was omitted.
—-
FED ELECTIONS DATE NOT IN 1787 CONST DUE TO UNKNOWN DATE OF CONST VIA ART VII.
DATE SHOULD BE ADDED TO CONST. – TO AVOID MORE LAW/REG ELECTION MACHINATIONS
Early voting should be 100% banned. Too much fraud.
HOW MANY PRECINCTS IN CA —
SENDING IN HOW MANY STATS AFTER POLLS CLOSE ???
LAST POLL CLOSE TIME IN WESTERN HAWAII / ALASKA ???
Richard Winger, presuming you were asking me: yes, absolutely. All voting should take place once a year with all voters physically present and assembled in one place per voting precinct and the vote by party counted openly on the record. The winning party should then pick officeholders that same evening.
Until we get rid of multiprecinct offices, one of the offices that is chosen can be a representative of that precinct to the next level up voting location, where an equivalent assembly will take place, and on up. Get rid of offices starting from top level (federal) on down until only single voting locations form governments.
SCS and Bob are right. Election day should be election day. No early voting, no late counting. Everyone votes in person and results same night.
Make every day election day. Have ongoing voting through universal thought scanning technology. Replace incumbents whenever they become unpopular.
…the Harris-Zelenski ticket???
I know I am for sure!
The US Supreme Court said in Bush v Gore that the 14th amendment means all voters must be treated equally. Some voters live in densely-populated areas with lots of services and government offices nearby. Some voters live in extremely remote areas. Some voters are overseas on election day. Some voters are even in military submarines on election day. So the idea that all votes must be cast and received by election authorities on just one day seriously discriminates against some voters, relative to others.
Some voters are in a coma for years. Some voters are illiterate. Some voters can’t afford stamps and envelopes and can’t get a ride to town to get them even if they could. Etc, etc.
There’s always something that precludes some people from voting. Not everyone has to vote. Way too many people vote as it is. The Supreme Court is often wrong, and that was an example.
The 14th amendment is among several which was improperly adopted, and among many which should be repealed, or better yet declared null and void due to improper adoption along with all fruit of the poison tree which emanate from its improper adoption.
Treating all voters equally doesn’t mean controlling for every possible factor. No possible scheme could ever possibly do that. Giving everyone a chance to show up at the same voting location on the same voting day IS treating everyone equally.
Otherwise:
Some voters have lots of time and money on their hands. Others are broke and constantly very busy.
Some voters have great memories and are very organized. Some have attention deficit disorder, always procrastinate, suffer from dyslexia, shake uncontrollably, have hallucinations, suffer from severe depression and apathy, undergo manic episodes, etc, etc.
Some voters are deaf and blind and paralyzed. Some don’t have people to help them with the people and coping skills to deal with problems they encounter as a result.
Some voters abuse alcohol and or prescribed and or illegal drugs. Some voters are shut ins. Some voters are low energy. Some voters have severe memory loss.
Some voters have a hard time ever getting to where they can obtain forms or the documents to prove they exist, are citizens and otherwise qualified, registering to vote, getting the ballots to fill out and pens or pencils to fill them out with, etc, etc.
Some voters can’t live or do much of anything at all without supervision, making any ballot they could possibly cast actually or effectively cast by someone else or under someone else’s supervision and control.
Some voters are homeless transients. Some voters are in jails, hospitals, treatment and recovery facilities, etc.
There’s absolutely no way to control for every possible factor that might make it easier for some people to vote than it is for others.
Letting everyone vote had to be balanced against ineligible voters voting, people voting multiple times and or in multiple locations, votes counted improperly, and other things which dilute the voting power of legitimate voters who vote legitimately once per election in one and only one location.
That’s before you even get to all the improper expansion of voting rights over the years.
“…when any State shall have held an election for the purpose of choosing electors, and shall fail to make a choice on the day aforesaid, then the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such manner as the State shall by law provide.”
–Act of January 23, 1845, ch. 1, 5 Stat. 721.
For example, if the ballots are still in the mail? In other words, each state has some leeway.
12 AMDT PREZ/VP ELECTOR DAY(S) — 2-1-4
Popular voting for electors is clearly a problem. They should be chosen by legislators.
Voting eligibility, in addition, should be at least as limited as it was when the constitution was first adopted.
DORR’S WAR IN RI IN EARLY 1840S —-
EXTREME GERRYMANDER AND DEFINITION OF VOTER
>>> 1844 RI CONST — LAST OF 13 ORIGINAL STATES TO GET A WRITTEN CONST
—
NEW AGE DORR ???
UNEQUAL BALLOT ACCESS LAWS
MINORITY RULE GERRYMANDERS
ETC
My uncle is right as usual.