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A circuit court judge in Maryland has issued a major ruling on mail-in ballots as early voting in the November midterms approaches.
Judge James Bonifant ruled on Monday that early mail-in ballots can be counted, overturning a state law that prohibited the practice, The Epoch Times reported.
In the 11-page ruling, issued late last week, Bonifant noted a state law that bars officials from tabulating mail-in ballots until “8 a.m. on the Wednesday following Election Day,” but added that if officials wait that long, the results of races would not be verified within 10 days of the election, as another law requires.
The judge’s ruling granted a request from the Maryland State Board of Elections seeking a one-time suspension of the mail-in law due to “emergency circumstances,” The Epoch Times reported, adding:
Counting of mail-in ballots after primary elections earlier this year led to delayed election certifications, and without the ability to start counting absentee ballots before Election Day, local, statewide, and federal contests might not be certified until late December or January 2023, the board said in a statement in August, as it filed a petition with the court.
State Del. Dan Cox, a Republican who is running for governor, intervened in the case. He said that the state’s request shouldn’t be granted because no emergency exists.
Bonifant acknowledged that the situation was foreseen by state legislators, who approved legislation that would enable officials to count mail-in ballots before Election Day. Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed the bill.
In the ruling, Bonifant wrote that “the full extent of the difficult situation caused by so many mail-in ballots did not materialize until the primary election occurred this past summer,” which necessitated his decision.
“This Court does not believe it is violating the State Constitution by granting the State Board’s requested relief. To the contrary, the Court believes it is exercising the powers granted to it under the Constitution to decide a case between competing parties who have different views on the interpretation of the law,” he concluded.
The state elections board noted that the judge’s decision means that officials can begin counting mail-in ballots on Oct. 1.
“This ruling provides election officials with additional time to canvass and tabulate these ballots to ensure that all critical election-related deadlines established by law are met. It also enables elections officials to return to a well-established process of canvassing mail-in ballots prior to Election Day, which was allowed in the 2020 General Election,” the board said in a statement, according to The Epoch Times.
Meanwhile, in an on-again, off-again case, a Delaware judge has halted a ruling he issued last week in which he ruled a “vote-by-mail law is unconstitutional.
The court held that the state’s vote-by-mail law is unconstitutional and that voters cannot mail in their ballots in the upcoming November election.
Now, that initial ruling is on hold after an appeal was filed.
“Vice Chancellor Nathan Cook granted a motion by the Department of Elections and Election Commissioner Anthony Albence to stay his ruling pending an expedited appeal to the state Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on Oct. 5,” Delaware Online reported.
“Cook said his stay would allow elections officials to process mail-in voting applications and prepare ballots, but that they are not allowed to send the ballots to voters. The judge said elections officials have indicated that if the Supreme Court upholds his ruling, they will notify voters who have applied for mail-in ballots under the new law that they will need to vote in person on Nov. 8,” the outlet added.
Last week, the judge halted Delaware’s new mail-in voting provision, ruling that it violates the state’s constitution.
Vice Chancellor Nathan Cook wrote in the opinion that allowing mail-in voting in the Nov. 8 general election “will result in the dilution of constitutional votes with unconstitutional votes.”
Cook issued an injunction blocking the Department of Elections from accepting applications for no-excuse absentee ballots.
