Ninth Circuit Rejects GOP Challenge to Nevada's Post-Election Ballot Counting Rule
The Republican National Committee and the Nevada GOP lost their appeal to block Nevada’s law allowing ballots to be counted up to four days after Election Day, after the Ninth Circuit found they lacked standing.
In 2024 the Republican National Committee and the Nevada Republican Party filed suit to prevent Nevada from counting mail-in ballots that arrive up to four days after Election Day, claiming the 2021 law extended the official election date and disadvantaged Republican voters. The U.S. District Court, presided over by Judge Miranda Du, dismissed the case because the plaintiffs lacked standing, a ruling the GOP appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
The appellate panel affirmed the lower court’s procedural dismissal, stating the plaintiffs suffered no concrete injury from the district court’s decision. Nevada officials and voting-rights advocates argue that the statute aligns with the principle that a ballot is valid if mailed by Election Day, regardless of postal delivery timing. The case follows a similar, earlier challenge in Mississippi that reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that federal statutes do not forbid counting absentee ballots postmarked on Election Day but received within five days. The Nevada appeal’s failure leaves the state’s ballot-counting timeline intact.
Why it matters
The decision keeps Nevada's extended ballot-counting window in place, affecting how future elections may be tallied.
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