Nevada Supreme Court: count mailed ballots 3 days after Election Day even without postmark

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Monday the state can count mailed ballots that arrive without a postmark up to three days after Election Day on Nov. 5.

The Republican National Committee and former President Donald Trump’s campaign committee had sought to block the counting of ballots without postmarks in the swing state, and the party has fought in other states to prevent counting ballots that arrive after Election Day.

But the state’s Supreme Court upheld the August decision by District Court Judge James Russell, who refused to block the counting of ballots without postmarks because of the importance of counting all eligible votes. Russell also found Republicans wouldn’t be irreparably harmed by counting late-arriving ballots because few votes were at stake.

"As explained in the legislative history, the purpose of the bill was 'to expand the ways in which people vote,' and make it easier for voters to exercise their freedom to vote," Chief Justice Elissa Cadish wrote for the court.

Tossup states such as Nevada have become a legal battleground over rules in the closely contested election. Republicans have focused many of their cases on the rules for voter registration and counting mailed ballots.

Nevada State law allows for mailed ballots to be counted when they are returned to county clerks by 5 p.m. on the fourth day after Election Day with a postmark by Election Day. If “the date of the postmark cannot be determined,” ballots received by 5 p.m. three days after Election Day “shall been deemed to have been postmarked on or before the day of the election.”

The RNC argued that voters could ensure their ballots were postmarked correctly by visiting the post office, but the state supreme court ruled that isn't possible for homebound voters or those with post offices far away. The court ruled that lawmakers intended to count ballots without postmarks or with smudged postmarks.

Justice Douglas Herndon and Justice Kristina Pickering each agreed separately with the result of the case for lack of harm to the Republican plaintiffs. But each voiced concern about counting mailed ballots after Election Day without postmarks.

Herndon wrote that the law was "clear and unambiguous that a mail ballot must contain a postmark."

Russell had found that few votes were at stake in the dispute.

“Particularly given the very small number of ballots apparently at issue – just 24 in the recent primary election – any possible injury to Plaintiffs is entirely speculative and hypothetical,” Russell wrote.

Neither the RNC nor Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose office defended the state law, immediately responded to a request for comment.

The ruling comes as election and postal officials urge voters to mail ballots at least a week before Election Day because of potential delays in the mail.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nevada Supreme Court upholds counting mail ballots after Election Day