Could Supreme Court mail-in-ballot counting case affect Nevada elections?

An upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case could shake up future elections for Nevada and 15 other states that allow post-Election Day mail-ballot counting.

Earlier this month, the higher court agreed to hear the case out of Mississippi that’s challenging a state law that permits mail ballots postmarked by Election Day there to be tallied upwards of five days after polls close.

Nevada gives those ballots up to four days to arrive, and up to three days for the ones without a postmark.

The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the deadlines last year, denying an appeal by the Republican National Committee President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Nevada Republican Party. The party argues that the practice of delayed counting undermines election integrity and trust in the process.

Trump, who won Nevada for the first time in 2024, issued a late-March Executive order that called on his administration to enforce statutes that state “votes to be cast and received by the election date established in the law.”

The Supreme Court case is not just about Mississippi, according to the Democratic National Committee.

“It has implications in dozens of states that count at least some votes cast by Election Day but delayed in the mail,” the party wrote in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Nevada Legislature on Wednesday passed a resolution that would ask voters in 2028 whether they want to enshrine mail-in-voting in the Nevada Constitution.

‘Undermines trust and confidence’

Republicans lauded the Supreme Court development, while their Democratic counterparts rebuked the court challenge.

In a statement, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters argued that delayed counting of “large numbers” of mail ballots “undermines trust and confidence in our elections.”

After the Supreme Court granted the petition Nov. 10, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar noted that Clark and Washoe counties — the most populous in the state — received more than 98 percent of the mail ballots by Election Day in 2024.

“The real issue is the counties’ capacity to count mail ballots in a timely manner,” he said in a statement. “Fixing the bottleneck takes investment into our elections, which the federal government has not delivered consistently, or at all.”

Nevada’s Democratic and Republican parties did not respond to inquiries seeking comment. The Clark County Elections Department deferred comment to Aguilar’s office. The offices of Gov. Joe Lombardo and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford couldn’t be immediately reached.

‘Not just about’ Mississippi

An amicus brief before the Supreme Court — filed by the Center for Election Confidence — cited Nevada’s previous two U.S. Senate elections.

“The glut of ballots received after Election Day caused bipartisan and needless frustration that could have been prevented through simple compliance with federal law,” the conservative-leaning organization wrote.

Ford signed up Nevada onto a counter amicus, which alleged that establishing an Election Day deadline could lead to a flood of litigation challenging ballots that were cast on time but had delayed arrivals.

“If this Court does not resolve the question presented in advance of the next federal general election, that question could arrive at this Court’s doorstep anyway, but in an emergency posture,” the filing said. “Such litigation is taxing for states and courts and can result in outcome-altering judgments without adequate time for full briefing and sustained deliberation.”

The Supreme Court case is expected to be argued in the coming months, with a resolution possible by late June, according to the Associated Press.

Said DNC Chair Ken Martin in a statement after the Supreme Court decision: “Republicans don’t want to see Americans exercising their sacred right to vote. They want to restrict, limit, and infringe on the rights of voters because they know that when more eligible citizens vote, Republicans lose.”

Voters disenfranchised?

Chuck Muth, a Nevada Republican and president of an organization that’s challenged the state’s voter rolls, countered that rolling back the deadline “doesn’t disenfranchise anybody.”

“Every ballot should be received on Election Day and counted on Election Day,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Wednesday. “That’s the way we believe it should be.”

Voters in Nevada who can’t mail ballots on time, Muth said, have the options to vote early, cast their choices on Election Day or place their ballots in drop boxes.

He said he was sure somebody would challenge the Nevada law if Republicans were successful in the Supreme Court.

Aguilar’s office said mail-in voting had become Nevada’s most popular form to cast ballots, with voters from the rural counties of Nye and Douglas having the highest returns.

“As the Chief Elections Officer, it’s my duty to serve the best interest of Nevada’s citizens and ensure secure access to the ballot box,” Aguilar said. “Nevada runs some of the most secure, accessible and transparent elections in the country. We will stand up against any attempts to silence the voices of our citizens.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.