Center for Election Confidence joined with the Honest Elections Project and Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the case of Watson v. RNC. By agreeing to hear this case and upholding the 5th Circuit’s excellent opinion, the Supreme Court could settle the issue of whether ballots must be received by Election Day as required by federal statute.

As CEC’s amicus brief argued:

All this confirms the need for this Court’s prompt resolution of the question presented by the petition—before the question inevitably arrives in an emergency posture. . . . The Court should grant certiorari and affirm Foster’s holding that when a ballot is received after Election Day, the vote was not cast by Election Day and thus may not be counted absent a permissible federal exception.

The Washington Examiner highlighted the brief and this case:

At issue in Watson v. Republican National Committee is a Mississippi statute allowing absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive up to five business days later. Attorneys representing Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch, both Republicans, have argued that the state has the right, via its own laws, to regulate and manage certain aspects of federal elections, including the receipt of mail-in ballots and counting them after Election Day. . . .
“It is vital for voters’ confidence that clear deadlines are imposed for mail ballot return and receipt,” said Lisa Dixon, of the Center for Election Confidence. “Stretching elections beyond Election Day not only violates federal law, but also sows doubt and discord about the tabulation process.”

The Center for Election Confidence thanks Christopher E. Mills of Spero Law LLC for his representation in this matter.