Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Allows Extra Time For Mail Ballots To Arrive In Pennsylvania
The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Allows Extension For Mail-In Ballots In Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to disturb a ruling by Pennsylvania’s highest court that extended the battleground state’s deadline for accepting mail-in ballots, a win for Democrats that gives voters more time to navigate postal delays and avoid in-person voting. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal members to leave intact a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision extending by three days the time for receipt of absentee ballots and allowing those with illegible postmarks to be counted if received by the deadline. (Bravin and Kendall, 10/19)
NPR: Supreme Court Rules Pennsylvania Can Count Ballots Received After Election Day
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that election officials in Pennsylvania can count absentee ballots received as late as the Friday after Election Day so long as they are postmarked by Nov. 3. The court declined without comment to take up one of the highest-profile election law cases in the final stretch before Election Day. Pennsylvania Republicans had sought to block the counting of late-arriving ballots, which the state's Supreme Court had approved last month. (Fessler, 10/19)
The New York Times: Deadlocked Supreme Court Allows Extra Time For Some Pennsylvania Ballots
Neither side gave reasons. The result suggested that Judge Amy Coney Barrett, whom President Trump nominated to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her death last month, could play a decisive role in election disputes. Judge Barrett is expected to be confirmed next week. (Liptak, 10/19)
In related developments on early and mail-in voting —
Politico: Florida Shatters Opening Day Record For Early Voting
Florida shattered its opening day record for in-person early voting Monday, with at least 350,000 people casting ballots and election officials continuing to count statewide late into the night. The trend continues a record-setting pace in the battleground state that is viewed as a must-win for President Donald Trump. Voting by mail, which started earlier this month, racked up more than 2.5 million ballots headed into Monday, more than double the 1.2 million during the same timeframe in 2016. (Dixon, 10/19)
The Washington Post: California Ballot Box Burns In Arson Attempt, Officials Say
Outside a public library in Baldwin Park, Calif., the smoke streaming from the intentional fire set inside an official ballot collection box made the deposit slot look like a chimney. Firefighters first tried to pry the sides of the metal container open with a crowbar and an ax. After a few minutes, they pulled out a saw and began cutting through the frame. As a sheet of metal finally fell away from the box, a thick cloud of smoke billowed out. “We’re going to save as many ballots as we can,” a firefighter said in a live stream of the incident posted to Facebook Sunday night. (Shepherd, 10/20)
