Florida Republicans criticized a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that upheld Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked and received with five days of Election Day, with some saying it gives further urgency to pass the SAVE America Act being pushed by President Trump.
"This is such a terrible opinion," said Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. "Election Day should mean just that." He went on to say that every day that goes by after Election Day without the results being posted "allows doubt to creep in and the conspiracy theories to bloom. It doesn't have to be this hard."
Florida law requires that all vote-by-mail ballots must be received at a superviser of elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. However, overseas ballots in a presidential preference primary or general election are counted up to 10 days after a general election if the ballot envelope is dated or postmarked no later than the day of the election.
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"SCOTUS validates election practices in places like California that count votes received after an election," noted Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called it a "loss for election integrity. Florida will keep doing it right."
Florida GOP U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody responded to the high court's ruling by declaring that "we must get the Save America Act back to the floor on a vote."
President Trump has demanded that the U.S. Senate vote on the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote and that voters show a photo ID at polling places (which is already the law in 36 states, including Florida).
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried cheered the Supreme Court's ruling, calling it a "huge win for the freedom to vote and to have your vote counted."
"Instead of winning on ideas, the Republican Party's entire playbook is to win by silencing voters," she added. "Republicans are so terrified of the power of a true, representative democracy that their strategy is dreaming up new ways to keep the voters from being heard — including making it harder for seniors, service members and those with disabilities to cast their ballots by mail."
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