Cleta Mitchell says Supreme Court’s mail ballot ruling opens door to kill early voting: ‘Let's file some cases’

Key Points:

• The U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received later, in a 5-4 decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee.
• Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, rejected the argument that federal election laws preempt states from accepting late-arriving ballots and defended early voting as consistent with election-day statutes.
• Despite the ruling, lawyer Cleta Mitchell, appearing on Steve Bannon’s podcast, argued that Barrett’s opinion could be used to legally challenge and potentially abolish early voting, urging immediate lawsuits.
• Barrett and Justice Samuel Alito both indicated that early voting is permissible under election-day laws, with Alito emphasizing that the electorate’s choice is finalized only after all ballots are cast and collected.
• Nonetheless, some conservative figures, including DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon, continue to push for strict interpretations of Election Day, signaling ongoing efforts to restrict early voting access.