The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Monday to uphold a lower court's decision permitting mail-in ballots lacking a postmark to be counted if they arrive up to three days after Election Day, dismissing a GOP-led challenge in a high-stakes decision for the upcoming election, The Hill reported.
This ruling follows the court's affirmation of a lower court decision rejecting a Republican-led challenge to the current ballot-counting law.
The high court's majority opinion clarified that state law, which mandates counting mail-in ballots when a postmark is illegible or "cannot be determined," also applies to ballots without a postmark.
This interpretation directly counters the GOP's argument that the rule should exclusively cover ballots with smudged or unreadable postmarks.
"If a voter properly and timely casts their vote by mailing their ballot before or on the day of the election, and through a post office omission the ballot is not postmarked, it would go against public policy to discount that properly cast vote," the court wrote in its majority opinion.
The high court added that distinguishing between unmarked ballots and those with illegible postmarks would be unprincipled, as the postmark date cannot be confirmed in both cases.
The court also addressed the broader GOP concerns regarding election security and voter fraud. In affirming the district court's ruling, the high court held that the Republican plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence that counting unmarked ballots would increase the likelihood of fraud or compromise election security. Furthermore, the court dismissed claims of any partisan bias in processing mail-in ballots, rejecting the argument that such ballots would disproportionately benefit Democratic candidates.
The ruling was largely unified, with five justices joining the majority opinion.
Two other justices agreed with the outcome but offered separate opinions. One noted the plaintiffs' lack of evidence, while the other emphasized that modifying election rules so close to Election Day would not serve the public interest.
Nevada is considered a critical battleground state, with polling averages indicating a tight race. According to recent data from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, former President Donald Trump holds a slim lead over Vice President Kamala Harris, with 48.1% support to her 47.2%.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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