Watson v. Republican National Committee · ¶34

Finally, this interpretation of the election-day statutes is consistent with the way the Constitution treats elections. Although most voting in our country’s early days occurred in person—making casting and receipt simultaneous—that was not true of the electoral college. For that, the Constitution establishes a system somewhat analogous to absentee voting: Presidential electors “shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot,” and then “transmit” their votes to the “Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate” for “count[ing].” Art. II, §1, cl. 3. The Constitution requires the “Day on which [the electors] shall give their Votes” to be “the same throughout the United States.” Art. II, §1, cl. 4. But it says nothing about the day for receipt, and, of course, 18th-century modes of transmission did not offer same-day delivery. The…

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