Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20a66_new_m6io.pdf
Page Number: 12.0

Cite as:  592 U. S. ____ (2020) 

7 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring 

just mailed by election day.  Those States want to avoid the 
chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thou-
sands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and po-
tentially  flip  the  results  of  an  election.    And  those  States 
also want to be able to definitively announce the results of 
the election on election night, or as soon as possible there-
after.    Moreover,  particularly  in  a  Presidential  election, 
counting all the votes quickly can help the State promptly 
resolve  any  disputes,  address  any  need  for  recounts,  and 
begin the process of canvassing and certifying the election 
results in an expeditious manner.  See 3 U. S. C. §5.  The 
States are aware of the risks described by Professor Pildes: 
“[L]ate-arriving ballots open up one of the greatest risks of 
what  might,  in  our  era  of  hyperpolarized  political  parties 
and  existential  politics,  destabilize  the  election  result.    If 
the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up 
losing due to late-arriving ballots, charges of a rigged elec-
tion could explode.”  Pildes, How to Accommodate a Massive 
Surge in Absentee Voting, U. Chi. L. Rev. Online (June 26, 
2020)  (online  source  archived  at  www.supremecourt.gov).  
The  “longer  after  Election  Day  any significant changes  in 
vote totals take place, the greater the risk that the losing 
side will cry that the election has been stolen.”  Ibid. 
  One may disagree with a State’s policy choice to require 
that absentee ballots be received by election day.  Indeed, 
some States require only that absentee ballots be mailed by 
election  day.    See,  e.g.,  W. Va.  Code  Ann.  §3–3–5(g)(2) 
(Lexis 2020).  But the States requiring that absentee ballots 
be received by election day do so for weighty reasons that 
warrant judicial respect.  Federal courts have no business 
disregarding those state interests simply because the fed-
eral courts believe that later deadlines would be better. 
  That constitutional analysis of election deadlines still ap-
plies  in  the  pandemic.    After  all,  during  the  pandemic,  a 
State  still  cannot  conduct  an  election  without  deadlines.  
And the States that require absentee ballots to be received