Democrats win another victory over mail-in voting in Pennsylvania and North Carolina

In yet another setback to Republicans, the US Supreme Court has extended deadlines for receiving mail-in ballots in two key battleground states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

The court Wednesday rejected a plea from Republicans to overturn ruling by Pennsylvania’s top court that allows officials to continue receiving absentee ballots for up to three days after the Election Day if they were postmarked by November 3.

Pennsylvania is being closely contested by President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The incumbent president won the state in 2016 but is now trailing Biden there in many opinion polls.

Pennsylvania GOP leaders ask US Supreme Court to overturn mail-in-ballot ruling

Pennsylvania legislative leaders have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a high court ruling over mail-in ballots.

In North Carolina, the Supreme Court let stand lower court rulings that allowed the state’s board of elections to extend the deadline for vote receiving to nine days after Election Day.

The justices, who denied the Republicans' request, did not explain their reasoning, but the court said additional statements may be forthcoming.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, who joined the court on Tuesday, did not participate in either case “because of the need for a prompt resolution” and “because she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings,” said a court spokeswoman.

The conservative-majority court has, however, confronted deadline extensions for mail-in ballots in three other states, including Wisconsin, in the past few days.

The ruling has concerned Democrats, who say this could leave thousands of ballots uncounted due to postal service changes and the massive number of voters seeking to vote by mail instead of in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.

US Supreme Court declines to extend Wisconsin mail-in voting deadline

The US Supreme Court has refused to extend mail-in ballots deadline in Wisconsin.

The pandemic has sparked an increase in voting by mail as millions of people seek to avoid crowds at polling places, even though Trump has repeatedly cast doubt — without evidence — over the reliability of the vote in ballots.

While the president says voting by mail would lead to mass voter fraud, experts describe it as secure as any other method.

On Wednesday, Democrats said in Congress that reported delays in mail deliveries in several cities could jeopardize delivery of ballots.

They called on people, who have not yet voted, “to vote in person or use designated election drop boxes,” ahead of the next week’s election.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington also ordered the Postal Service (USPS) to release daily reports on mail deliveries, participate in daily court conferences and take other steps to ensure timely delivery of ballots.

USPS said it has delivered more than 100 million blank or completed ballots since early September.

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