Election watchdog sues to halt post-election ballot acceptance.

An Election Integrity Battle: Lawsuit Challenges North Dakota’s Mail-In Ballot Law

An election integrity group is taking legal action against North Dakota in an effort to block a controversial law. This law allows the state to accept and count mail-in ballots as long as they arrive within 13 days after Election Day.

Interestingly, North Dakota is not alone in this practice. There are reportedly 18 other states, along with the District of Columbia, that also accept mailed ballots delivered after Election Day. However, it’s worth noting that Congress has created an exception for military and overseas voters, whose mailed-in ballots are counted even if they arrive after Election Day.

If successful, this federal lawsuit could set a precedent for similar legal battles in other states, potentially leading to a halt in the acceptance of late-arriving ballots.

Unsurprisingly, Democrats are strongly opposed to any attempts to restrict mail-in voting. However, it’s worth mentioning that former President Donald Trump criticized the practice on September 23, 2020. He claimed that mail-in “ballots are out of control” and stated that Democrats were well aware of this issue.

The Fight Against Election ‘Lawlessness’

While states have the authority to run their own elections, federal law stipulates a single national Election Day, according to the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), the group behind the lawsuit. PILF filed the lawsuit on July 7, arguing that Election Day has lost its significance due to the acceptance of ballots days and even weeks after the designated day.

J. Christian Adams, president of PILF and a former attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, stated, “PILF is fighting to end this lawlessness and restore the ‘day’ in Election Day.”

The legal complaint highlights that Congress established a single statutory Election Day in the 1800s to address chaos and uncertainty surrounding elections. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Benjamin Franklin Butler of Massachusetts, who initially served as a Democrat, then became a Republican, and later switched back to being a Democrat.

Mr. Butler explained the purpose of the law, stating, “I think it will be fair for everybody that on the day when one votes all should vote, and that the whole question should be decided then.”

However, North Dakota’s allowance for ballots to arrive and be counted up to 13 days after Election Day goes against federal law. This means that the “whole question” of determining the new officeholder cannot be resolved on Election Day itself, as North Dakota continues to accept ballots beyond that date, as stated in the complaint.

The plaintiff in this case is Mark Splonskowsk.