Let’s Return to Election Day

Anybody remember “Election Day?”

It used to be the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. It started it some places as early as 6 a.m. and closed in most around 9 p.m. In 15 hours, Americans voted. It also used to be that the votes got counted that night and, usually by midnight, almost always by dawn, we knew who was president, senator, congressman, governor, state legislator, mayor, and dogcatcher.

Ah, those days gone by!

Why do I remember them? Because, apparently, it was a slow news weekend, so the New York Times felt the need to post a scare story on its Sunday front page: what will a Supreme Court case do to extended voting?

The Court will hear Watson v. Republican National Committee. It’s a Mississippi case about whether a state may accept mail-in ballots received after election day. The Magnolia State counts ballots that arrive up to five days after the election. (They must be postmarked by election day). Mississippi contends it is within its rights under federal law as long as there is a designated election day. The Court should strike Mississippi’s approach down.

Defenders of late voting say it “empowers Americans” and “makes every vote count!” It also opens the door to fraud or at least temptations towards it. Counting ballots after the majority of votes have been counted and the results announced is a potential opportunity to stuff the ballot box. That temptation is enhanced when razor-thin margins separate winners from losers, a growing phenomenon in our polarized land.