Leah Litman

Thanks for having me.

Sure.

So the RNC brought this case challenging a Mississippi statute that allows the state to count ballots that are cast, i.e.

postmarked, on or by Election Day, so long as they're received within five days of Election Day.

A lower court trial judge said, get the fuck out of here, right?

That argument is ludicrous.

It would literally call into question early voting, election law practices for the last 200 years, etc.,

And then the geniuses on the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, three of Donald Trump's Court of Appeals appointees, said, you know what?

Actually, federal law does make it illegal to count absentee ballots that are received after Election Day.

That theory would destabilize election laws in more than half the states, I think 29 some states.

And so because their ruling had such sweeping implications, the Supreme Court basically had to take this case.

And that's how it got up here.

The argument is federal law that just says the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November is established as the day for the election.

Their theory is that federal law makes it illegal for states to count ballots that are cast by Election Day but not received until a few days after.

I mean, they are gremlins, so I think that's kind of non-unique, but sure.

They are.

And part of what is so striking is that you have the prospect that both the federal government and I think at least three justices, three Republican appointees, if not more, are more anti-voting rights than the state of Mississippi.

That is the state of our union.

So Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch seemed to be totally MAGA-pilled, like their brains had just been marinating in Fox News and were regurgitating anti-absentee ballot talking points.