By News 4 & Fox 11 Digital Staff, October 8th 2024
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Supreme Court is set to rule on whether mail ballots that arrive after Election Day without a postmark should be counted in this year’s election.
The case, which has been expedited due to the proximity of the election, was brought before the court by the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign, and the Nevada GOP. They are suing state election officials to ensure that such ballots are not counted.
“They clearly require a postmark to be present and that means that when a ballot lacks a postmark it is not counted,” saidMichael Francisco,arguing on behalf of the Republican National Committee at the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday morning.
The argument from the Republicans is that late-arriving mail ballots tend to favor Democrats. On the other hand, attorneys representing the state argue that if a postmark is missing or unclear, the benefit of the doubt should go to the voter.
“If the date of the postmark cannot be determined, the ballot shall be deemed to have been postmarked by Election Day as long as it is received within 3 days after,” said attorney David Fox with the Elias Law Group.
Fox emphasized that current Nevada las already has a straightforward and complete set of rules, and said that it’s not a voter’s fault if the post office makes an error and fails to postmark someone’s ballot by mistake.
The justices, who rarely indicate their leanings, asked pointed questions during the proceedings on Tuesday. Both sides declined to comment after the oral arguments concluded. The state’s high court is expected to make a decision soon.