WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a former civil rights lawyer, (both D-VA), joined their Senate Democratic colleagues in filing an amicus brief in the case of Watson v. Republican National Committee, a landmark mail-in voting case that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court later this year. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case could determine whether vote-by-mail in Virginia will be thrown into chaos.
In 2024, the Republican National Committee (RNC) challenged a Mississippi law that allows ballots postmarked by election day to be received up to five days after election day, arguing that this law violates federal law setting the timing of elections. If the Fifth Circuit’s ruling is affirmed by the Supreme Court, vote-by-mail in more than a dozen states – including Virginia – will be thrown into disarray as huge numbers of voters, particularly rural, military, and overseas voters, could be disenfranchised.
“Many states, including Virginia, have adopted sensible policies to allow mail-in ballots to be counted so long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day,” the senators wrote. “The Fifth Circuit’s ruling undermines the viability of these laws and threatens the disenfranchisement of voters, especially those living abroad or in rural areas.”
The amicus brief filing comes days after the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to suppress mail-in voting. Closures and consolidation of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) facilities, as well as a recent rule change by the USPS, will result in mail being postmarked less frequently on the day it is received. As a result, mail-in ballots received by the USPS near or on election day could receive a delayed postmark and be invalidated.
The amicus brief was led by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Alex Padilla (D-CA). Warner and Kaine were joined by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in filing the amicus brief.
The full text of the amicus brief is available here.
