The nation’s highest court has agreed to hear the case Watson v. Republican National Committee. The lawsuit was brought by the RNC and the Mississippi Republican Party to challenge a 2024 Mississippi law that allows post-Election Day mail-in ballots.
The affiant in the lawsuit is Michael Watson, the state’s Republican secretary of state.
Political activist Jameson Taylor, who is policy and legislative affairs director at AFA Action, tells AFN the issue is whether or not every vote must arrive by Election Day to be counted.
“We have a crazy situation here in Mississippi, where we have good people on both sides,” Tayor advises.
AFA Action is the political arm of the Mississippi-based American Family Association, so Taylor is familiar with parties on both sides of the lawsuit. He says Lynn Finch, in her capacity as attorney general, is obligated by the Mississippi Constitution to defend the law in court.
Looking beyond Mississippi, legal website Scotusblog says the case sets the stage for a potential major ruling on election law because 30 other states have similar permissive laws for mail-in ballots.
After a federal judge upheld the Mississippi law, an appeal to the 5th Circuit proved successful. After that ruling, the State of Mississippi appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
A date for oral arguments before the high court has not been set. The court’s ruling will be announced in June.
