Case: In re: Extension of time for Absentee and Mail-in Ballots

NOTE: This case is being tracked in close to real time by the Stanford/MIT Healthy Elections Project. So for information, see their tracker.

According to their summary as of December 20, 2020,

Due to the high number of applications for mail-in and absentee ballots on account of the pandemic, despite its best efforts (including appropriating resources from other county agencies), the county board of elections was unable to process applications in a timely manner. The board feared that many applicants, through no fault of their own, would not receive their ballots in time to return them prior to the received by deadline for counting (June 2, 2020 at 2000 hours). The board petitioned the court for, and the court granted, an extension of the deadline for receipt of mail-in and absentee ballots for an additional 7 days (until June 9, 2020 at 1700 hours) for those ballots that were postmarked no later than the standing deadline to submit (June 1, 2020). This allowed for extra time for transit of the ballots by mail, but did not extend the deadline by which ballots must be postmarked. The court also ordered that all ballots received during the extended period be segregated and logged for receipt, but be counted as regular ballots unless the same voter also cast a provisional ballot.