An important ruling this past week in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has the potential for a major impact on Mail-in voting for Washington voters in future elections. The issue of ‘When is a ballot timely received for counting in the election?’ has once again been raised.
The three-judge panel ruled unanimously: The date the ballot is received by elections officially is all that matters. The date of mailing and postmark is irrelevant. If a ballot hasn’t been received by election day, it’s too late. Judge Oldham wrote “Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day, and federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days.”
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