WASHINGTON (10/28/2020) — In a 5-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Wednesday evening to allow absentee ballots in North Carolina to be received and counted up to nine days after Election Day.
The Court’s order left in place a decision by the N.C. State Board of Elections to lengthen the period from three to nine days, pushing back the deadline to Nov. 12 for ballots postmarked by the current absentee-by-mail ballot deadline of Nov. 3, at 5 p.m.
Democracy North Carolina’s Executive Director called the ruling a “true victory for voters.”
“As record numbers of North Carolina voters take advantage of voting by mail for the first time, we know that many more will be able to make their voices heard thanks to an extended Nov. 12 deadline to receive and count absentee-by-mail ballots that acknowledges the reality of mail delays,” said Lopez. “Tonight’s Supreme Court order is a true victory for North Carolina voters that preserves this all-important absentee voter access, providing these voters with the assurances they need to trust that valid absentee votes cast by the deadline will be counted.”