[direwolf]

Two big Supreme Court wins for voters and Democrats in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. I'm legitimately shocked.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/28/polit...ays/index.html

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the counting of ballots in North Carolina received up to nine days after the election as long as the ballots are postmarked by Election Day, a victory for Democrats in another key state.

Republicans and the Trump campaign had asked the court to reinstate a deadline set in June by the state Legislature that allowed ballots to be received only up to three days after Election Day.

The ruling came shortly after the court left in place for now a Pennsylvania state Supreme Court decision that allowed the counting of ballots received up to three days after the election, even if there is no legible postmark.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett took no part in both the North Carolina and Pennsylvania decisions because she had not had time to fully review the briefs, the court said.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein praised the court's order, calling it a "huge win."

"The Court upheld the State Board of Elections' effort to ensure that every eligible vote counts, even during a pandemic," he said in a statement.

There were two separate challenges, one brought by the Trump campaign and other Republicans and a second brought by Republican North Carolina legislators.

Tuesday's orders did not specify a vote count. In both, Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas noted their dissent. It would have taken five justices to grant the Republicans' request.

Election law expert Rick Hasen said there are some reasons why either Chief Justice John Roberts or Justice Brett Kavanaugh may not have sided with their conservative colleagues.

He noted that the case was more complicated by procedural issues than other recent voting rights challenges before the justices. There may have also been an inclination not to change the rules too close to the election.