FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today released the following statement after the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee, a case addressing whether federal law requires all mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day, or whether states may count ballots voted and postmarked by Election Day and received within a set number of days thereafter.
In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that federal election-day statutes do not require absentee ballots to arrive by Election Day. States may count mail-in ballots that are voted and postmarked on time and received within the window each state allows.
“Marylanders trust that, so long as they vote and mail their ballots before Election Day, their votes will be counted and their voices will be heard. Today the Supreme Court protected that trust and affirmed Maryland’s authority to set its own election rules. Maryland has always worked to expand access to the ballot, and today’s ruling respects that commitment by ensuring that timely-cast ballots are counted. The right to vote is foundational to our democracy, and our Office is committed to ensuring every Marylander retains that right.”
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