Nevada Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Counting Postmark-Lacking Mail-in Ballots

Nevadans are fucked now that the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that mail-in ballots without a discernible postmark can be counted by clerks and registrar of voters three days after Election Day.

The interpretation stems from a statute enacted during the pandemic by the Democratic majority, allowing ballots to be received up to the fourth day after Election Day but requiring a postmark on or before Election Day. However, even if a postmark can’t be verified, ballots arriving within the first three days post-election will be deemed timely and counted.

The court’s ruling hinged on an interpretation of the statute that both plaintiffs and some legal experts have found controversial. In its decision, the court dismissed the case due to the plaintiffs’ lack of “standing,” a procedural hurdle that has posed a significant barrier to election-related lawsuits in Nevada.

An anonymous election lawyer remarked, “The standing requirement has prevented most Nevada election laws from being challenged on their merits, giving state judges broad discretion that often aligns with legislative intent.”

Beyond standing, the court interpreted the statute’s ambiguous language to include ballots with missing postmarks. The ruling refers to 2021 legislative discussions where Democratic Assembly leader Jason Frierson clarified that ballots arriving without postmarks or with unreadable marks were to be counted if received in the designated period.

In his dissent, Justice Douglas Herndon argued that the statute requires a postmark, stating, “A postmark cannot be indeterminable unless there is a postmark to begin with.”

Herndon emphasized that any deviation from requiring a postmark dilutes the statute’s text, contradicting principles of statutory construction. Justice Kristina Pickering, concurring in part, argued that the statute’s plain text requires a postmark for any late-arriving ballot but ultimately concurred with the court’s decision due to proximity to Election Day.

Vet Voice Foundation, a defendant in the case, welcomed the decision.

CEO Janessa Goldbeck stated, “Today’s decision is a resounding victory for troops and veterans voting by mail, honoring their service by upholding accessible election standards.”

It is unclear whether the plaintiffs will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.