US Supreme Court Refuses To Allow Wisconsin To Extend Mail Ballot Deadline - Filing

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2020) The US Supreme Court has declined to allow a six-day deadline extension for receipt of mail-in ballots in the state of Wisconsin, court documents revealed.

"In this case, as in several this Court has recently addressed, a District Court intervened in the thick of election season to enjoin enforcement of a State's laws," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote on Monday in the opinion of the court. "Because I believe this intervention was improper, I agree with the decision of the Seventh Circuit to stay the injunction pending appeal."

The Supreme Court in a 5-3 ruling sided with Republicans in blocking the Democrats' bid to reinstate a mail-in ballot extension in Wisconsin.

In mid-October, several organizations including the advocacy group Protect Democracy asked the US Supreme Court to extend the state of Wisconsin's mail-in ballot receipt deadline for the November 3 election.

The lawsuit sought to ensure there are in-person voting opportunities with social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

More than 63 million Americans have already voted - 42.6 million ballots have been cast by mail versus 20.9 in-person votes, according to the US Elections Project which consolidates state data. More than 87.8 million mail-in ballots have been requested overall.

In the state of Wisconsin, 1.75 million mailed ballots have been requested, about 61% of which have already been returned. In 2016, Trump won the state by less than 23,000 votes (less than 1 percent of the total vote).