Fifth Circuit Hears Argument in Mississippi Case Over When Postal Ballots Must have been Received

Posted on by September 26, 2024
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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.

Three Independents May be Elected to U.S. Senate This Year

Posted on by September 25, 2024
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It is likely that at least two independents will win U.S. Senate races this year, and there is a 50-50 chance that a third one will also win.

Bernie Sanders in Vermont, and Angus King in Maine, are independent U.S. Senators running for re-election. Both are expected to win. And in Nebraska, a Survey USA Poll shows that Dan Osborn might win as well. He is an independent candidate and is the only opponent for Republican incumbent Deb Fischer. See this story.

Georgia Supreme Court Says Votes for Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz Can’t be Counted

Posted on by September 25, 2024
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On September 25, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an opinion in Al-Bari v Pigg, S25A0177. It agrees with the lower court that independent presidential candidates cannot petition in Georgia. Instead, only independent presidential elector candidates may petition.

Because the ballots are already being printed, the candidates who had petitioned are on the ballot. The Court said votes for them should not be counted. The two presidential candidates who petitioned, and who were told they had enough valid signatures, are Claudia De la Cruz and Cornel West.

This is another instance at which the candidates followed the instructions of the Secretary of State, and yet were kept off the ballot even though they submitted enough signatures.