The Democrat’s have had court victories in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and other states in connection with requiring that votes received after election day must nevertheless be counted. And in many of these decisions, the Courts have simply overruled the actual wording of the relevant law. Since it is accepted that many more Democrats than Republicans will be voting by mail, there seems to be a general belief that this is good for Democrats. But should that really be the takeaway?
It is quite clear that no matter what concessions the Democrats win in court, a huge number of mail-in votes will be invalidated. Whether because of mail delays (past even the extended deadlines), signature issues, proper following of instructions, etc. many ballots will be invalidated. I believe that these rejected ballots will far exceed any additional votes gleaned by enabling people to not have to physically go to the polls. People voting by mail are likely to be those who would, absent Covid, have gone to the polls. Extra votes would probably only come from “harvesting”, which will hopefully be quashed.
Also, I believe it likely that Appeals courts will reverse at least the most egregious overreaches by the state courts. It is hard to see how blatant rewriting of legislation could be considered acceptable, even by Democratic leaning courts. But unlike some, I do not believe that the Supreme Court will weigh in. I believe that SCOTUS will say that the States have ultimate authority to determine their own voting procedures.
Who Really Has the Edge on the Impending Mail-In Ballot Fiasco?
