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Isaac Saul
From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle.
Will K. Back
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast. A place where you get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking and and a little bit of our take. I am your host today. Senior editor Will K. Back. It is the last day of June and honestly, this month has felt pretty long to me, which I'm not complaining about, especially not in summer. I hope the same is true in July. Hope the same is true in August. I'm certainly not wishing away these warm months, but I do imagine that if you are a Supreme Court justice or clerk or court watcher, the last week alone has probably felt like a month. And that's because the court has released what feels like a slate of front page rulings about every day for the past week or so. For us here at Tangle, this time of year has become known internally as our SCOTUS week, and this year is absolutely no different. Perhaps actually, it's the biggest example of a SCOTUS week that we've had so far. Yesterday we wrote about a couple really important, impactful immigration rulings that came down on Thursday. Today we're going to be covering the decision in Mississippi's mail in ballot law, which surprised several court watchers and commentators who expected the court to rule differently after they did oral arguments back earlier this year. This morning also brought rulings on birthright citizenship and several other major rulings to round out the court's term. So you can expect our coverage to be in your inbox or in your podcast feed the rest of this week as we break down these rulings. There's also a little bit of breaking news on the Tangle front. We have a newly minted Associate editor who has joined us as of last week is Karina Pacheco, and she is making her debut today with a descent to my take. We're super excited to get her in the mix, even though she's starting off by disagreeing with me. It is what it is, but you can expect to see and hear more of her writing much more regularly starting today. And then later in the episode, we are going to give a look back at the only person who's ever served as both President and Supreme Court Chief justice. And I also assume the first person to check both of those boxes and be rumored to have gotten stuck in a bathtub. You'll have to listen on to hear who we're talking about, if you don't know already. All right, with that, we're off. I'm gonna hand it over to John and we'll get this edition started. John to you.
John Law
Thanks, Will, and welcome, everybody. Here are your quick hits for today. First up, in a 6:3 ruling, the Supreme Court overturned President Donald Trump's executive order revoking birthright citizenship for children born to non citizens, finding that the order violated the 14th Amendment citizen. Separately, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0 that Title IX allows states to establish separate men's and women's sports teams based on biological sex and 6 to 3 that West Virginia's law banning transgender women athletes from competing on women's teams is consistent with the law. Finally, in another 63 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down coordinated campaign spending limits. Number two, President Donald Trump nominated acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to serve permanently in the role. Separately, President Trump nominated Oklahoma law enforcement official Lance Schroyer to serve as director of Immigration and Customs enforcement. Number three, the Supreme Court rejected President Trump's appeal of a $5 million civil judgment against him in the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Number four, President Trump downplayed the significance of the federal housing affordability bill passed by Congress last week, saying it is so unimportant compared to the Save America Act. The president has not indicated if or when he might sign the bill. And number five, Senator Ruben Gallego, the Democrat from Arizona, is reportedly under federal investigation for campaign finance violations linked to a whistleblower complaint that he used campaign funds to pay for vacations.
Isaac Saul
We're coming on the air because the Supreme Court has just issued a critical ruling ahead of the midterm elections. The justices are weighing in on whether states can count late arriving mail in ballots that were sent on time. The Supreme Court upheld state laws allowing the counting of late arriving mail in ballots if they were postmarked by Election Day.
John Law
On Monday, The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to uphold a Mississippi law allowing election officials to count ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days afterwards. In its ruling, the court rejected the challenger's argument that federal statutes setting a national Election Day required ballot receipt by that day. Instead, the court held that Election day refers to voters choosing a candidate which is fulfilled when voting is completed, not when ballots are received. The ruling comes four months before the 2026 midterm elections and ensures that Mississippi's law will remain in place for the state's elections. For context, in 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic, Mississippi changed its election laws to allow officials to count mail in ballots received up to five business days after Election Day, provided they were postmarked by Election Day, the Republican National Committee led a group challenging the ballot deadline. In 2024, a district judge upheld Mississippi's law, but a panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling. Mississippi challenged the 5th Circuit ruling to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. In March, Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered the court's opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown. Jackson Barrett wrote, the defining element of an election, the term used in all three federal statutes has always been the electorate's choice of candidate. While federal law dictates when ballots must be cast, state law dictates when they must be received. She also referred to the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting act as proof that congressional election legislation has presupposed the states that have the power to set ballot receipt deadlines. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined most of the dissent. Alito argued that from the nation's founding until the last few decades of the 20th century, a period that spans the enactment of all three Election Day statutes, having an election on a particular day meant completing ballot collection on that day. To illustrate his point, Alito focused on the rise of absentee voting from soldiers during the Civil War. The noting that states strict adherence to federal Election Day guidelines likely followed from their understanding that elections include both ballot casting and ballot receipt. On Monday, President Donald Trump criticized the Supreme Court's decision in light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning voters rights and the fact that people's votes are allowed to be counted long after an election is over, it is more important than ever to pass the Save America act, he wrote On Truth Social Media Today, we'll take a look at what the left and right are saying about the Court's ruling, and then Senior Editor Will Kbach will give his take.
Dewey Thomas
We'll be right back after this quick break. Hey everyone, quick thought before we get started. If you listen to Tangle, it's probably because you're trying to escape the media echo chamber. But even when you read broadly, it's hard to see which stories are being emphasized and which ones are being ignored. This episode is brought to you by Ground News. Ground News is not a publisher. It's an app and website that gathers reporting on every news story from across the political spectrum and shows you each outlet's bias rating, factuality rating, and who owns it. It's more than just an aggregator. It gives you context on every perspective in one place so that you can make up your own mind. For example, a recent story about a bipartisan border deal collapsing was covered by 50 plus outlets. One left leaning headline read GOP sinks border deal under Trump Pressure while a right leaning one said Democrats block Stronger Border enforcement. Same event, very different framing. Ground News lets you compare that instantly and even flags blind spots stories disproportionately covered by one side. If you want unlimited access to these features, subscribe to the vantage plan for 40% off@groundnews.com that's groundnews.com tn promo code tn again groundnews.com tn code tn for 40% off. If you care about seeing the full picture, I think you'll really value this tool
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John Law
Alright, first up, let's start with what the left is saying. The left broadly supports the decision, viewing it as a common sense outcome. Some say the dissent will further fuel claims of election fraud. Others claim the ruling will turn Republicans attention back to passing the Save America Act. In Vox, Ian Millhiser called the dissent a fringe attack on voting rights. It should go without saying that when Congress set the election day in 1845, it did not intend for literally everything involving an election to occur on that day. Prior to an election, states must determine which candidates shall appear on the ballot, print those ballots, distribute them to polling places and individual voters, register voters, and perform numerous other tasks. Many states also allow for early voting, Millhiser said. The premise of the Republican Party's lawsuit is that the task of gathering the ballots that have already been cast is somehow special and it must happen on Election Day. But there's no legal support for this position. As Justice Amy Coney Barrett writes for herself, her three Democratic colleagues, and Chief Justice Roberts. When federal law set the date for the election, it set the day when the electorate must make its choice, millhiser wrote. Voters must actually cast their ballots by the deadline, but the same deadline does not apply to the ministerial task of gathering all those ballots into a state office where they will be counted in slate, richard Lhassen wrote. The Supreme Court rejected a bonkers idea about voting by a 5, 4 margin. The Supreme Court oral argument in Watson revealed that some of the more MAGA friendly justices, including Justice Samuel Alito, were buying into a fever dream of voter fraud that could somehow justify limiting mail in balloting opportunities, Hassan said. And in his dissenting opinion on Watson, joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, in part, Alito pumped up fears of ballot harvesters fraud and loss of voter confidence to justify his stingy reading of the election statute. Watson is a small victory for voters, small because not many voters cast these late arriving ballots and voters would eventually adjust to earlier ballot deadlines, hassan wrote. The greatest significance of Watson is that the court majority barely rejected a bonkers reading of a federal statute on the basis of voter fraud fantasies. Had the Court agreed with the rnc, it would have signaled that the Court would avoid text, history and precedent to further constrict voting. The scary part is that four justices were willing to do just that. In New York magazine, Ed Kilgore said Supreme Court deals Trump surprise loss on election Law Justice Alito also warns that continuing to allow post election mail in ballot receipt will contribute to an appearance if not the reality of voter fraud, kilgore wrote. Without question, Watson will intensify Trump's already powerful obsession with the Save America Act. To be clear, the original House passed version of the legislation does not address voting by mail at all. But what Trump is calling the final version, which is stalled in the Senate, does ban post election Day receipt of bail ballots, along with no excuse voting by mail generally. It should also be noted that the furor over post election ballot receipt is a bit of a red herring, kilgore said. In California, so often cited without evidence as the locus of post election voting shenanigans, 2.5% of ballots arrived after Election Day. So the idea that states are massively stuffing ballot boxes with votes received after election Day is just made up. But the war over election rules will continue without a direct intervention from scotus. For now anyway. Alright, that is it for what the left is saying. Which brings us to what the right is saying. The right largely opposes the ruling, arguing the decision muddies ballot counting rules. Some call on Congress to enact stricter election laws. Others expressed disappointment that Justice Barrett authored the majority's opinion. The Wall Street Journal editorial board called the decision one of the three liberal wins from Monday. Election Day is when the electorate must make its choice, justice Barrett writes in Watson v. Republican National Committee. She says states accepted tardy mail ballots amid World War I, while seven authorized the practice during the 1940s, the board wrote, dissenting for four conservatives. Justice Alito argues those were short lived outlier rules that shed little light on the original meaning of election. He focuses on voting during the Civil War and says states then didn't accept late ballots. When Congress enacted the three Election day statutes, having the election on a particular date meant the ballots would be collected by that date. Also, what about late ballots without postmarks? If a handwritten date says Election Day, is that fine? How about votes delivered to officials a week later by partisan ballot harvesters? The board asked. The majority's decision opens Pandora's box, justice Alito says the good news is Congress can override it by revising the Election day laws. This would be a better push for Republicans than the doomed Save America Act. In the New York Post, Joel Pollack argued the ruling underlines the need for voter ID. The Supreme Court surprised observers Monday in Watson vs. Republican National Committee by allowing states to count ballots that arrive after Election Day. But just because something is constitutional doesn't make it right or smart, pollock wrote. The very idea that ballots can be counted if they arrive after Election Day creates suspicion. Why wouldn't political campaigns just wait to see how many votes they need to make up after election night, then slip through as many ballots as they needed to make up the difference? The dissent by Justice Samuel Alito states allowing absentee ballots to pour in over the days and weeks after Election Day, by which point preliminary election returns are being publicly reported, creates greater opportunity for fraud and risks further undermining the the public's confidence in election integrity. Justice Barrett acknowledges the problem but says that policy arguments are properly directed to legislatures, not courts, pollack said. So it's up to the legislatures and the voters to restore trust in the American voting system. In Town Hall, Matt Vespa said the Amy Coney Barrett problem reared its ugly head again Six years into her term. Barrett's record has been mixed at best, although some have called it a total disaster. She's not alone. Chief Justice Roberts also joined the liberal wing, though his record of disappointment is a bit longer than Barrett's. It's the first time Roberts and Barrett have joined the three stooges on the left here, vespa wrote. The Watson v. RNC ruling was the latest example where the court ruled in a 54 decision that Mississippi's law on mail in ballots does not violate federal standards on what constitutes election day in 2025, there were rumblings that we might have an ACB problem on immigration. She again sided with the liberal wing on whether the Trump administration the right to deport illegal aliens under the Alien Enemies Act. Vespa said it's a gut punch that Watson was handed down this way, and especially disappointing that ACB would betray us like this before our 250th birthday. If you can't get your act together to mail in your ballot before election Day, it shouldn't count. There's plenty of time. Alright, let's head over to Will for his take.
Will K. Back
Thanks, John. All right, this is Will back here to read my take. Reasonable people can ask why we need allowances for late arriving ballots at all. With so many voting options and so much available information about how to cast a ballot, at what point do we put the onus on individual voters to ensure that they cast their ballot in a timely manner? Now, I've personally made a point to vote in person during early voting in every election since I turned 18. And when this Supreme Court case surfaced, I caught myself questioning why everyone couldn't just be a bit more organized and make this a moot issue. Of course, that sentiment feels like common sense until your vote is the one that's in jeopardy through no fault of your own. Now, I've been lucky. I've never had a major life event conflict with casting a ballot, but I'll probably have to vote by mail at some point in my life. And who's to say when I'll come down with a poorly timed illness, or experience a natural disaster, or stare down a family emergency, or face some other unexpected challenge that causes me to mail my ballot back with little time to spare before Election Day, states ultimately have to decide whether they want to give voters leeway when these confounding factors arise. But the plaintiffs in Watson vs Republican National Committee questioned state's power to make that decision, and many people thought that the court was poised to hand President Trump and Republicans a major victory on this point. Back in April, after oral arguments, court watchers thought that the court would strike down Mississippi's law, and commentators on the left preemptively bemoaned that the conservative, quote, conspiracy brained, quote, misinformed justices were about to upend the midterms. Although it should be said that if you go back and listen to Isaac's take from the time he actually nailed his prediction, including that Barrett and Roberts would be the ones to flip and side with the liberal justices in this ruling. Many of those writers who bemoaned that potential ruling have not yet commented on this decision. And actually, in our research for today's edition, we struggled to find even the baseline three opinion pieces from the left on this ruling. And yes, I can understand, as I said at the beginning of this episode, it is a very busy week and time for SCOTUS decisions and there's a lot of fractured tension. But the dearth of commentary relative to what we had in April after oral arguments is still striking. Now some lawmakers aren't even trying to hide their inconsistencies. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, recently called the court illegitimate and castigated its, quote, far right majority of for its decision on temporary protected status. But on Monday, he welcomed the big blow it delivered to, quote, Trump's effort to rig the midterm elections. Representative Jasmine Crockett, the Democrat from Texas, went even further, writing last Thursday, quote, let's stop pretending the TPS decision is about the law. We've seen the pattern time and time again. This Trump influenced court has handed this administration exactly what it wants. Then yesterday she said, quote, well, would you look at that. After all those made up lies about mail in ballots, the Supreme Court just rejected this administration's latest attempt to silence voters. It is fine and expected to disagree with some Supreme Court decisions and agree with others. But it is another thing to imply that the court's majority is little more than a political arm of the Trump administration and then go silent or even cheer when the court behaves like an independent body. Beyond its impact on mail in voting, this case and this decision serve as a reminder that such black and white thinking doesn't always comport with reality. But let's look at the actual case. What did the court actually decide here? Well, the core question in Watson was whether states can set grace periods for late arriving ballots. And I think the majority was right to find that Mississippi's mail in ballot law doesn't clash with Congress's definition of Election Day. Oral arguments in the case focused in part on historical understandings of the meaning of Election Day because, as Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted in the majority opinion, federal statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt, just that voters must make their decision by Election Day. The challengers tried to show that states have historically abided by a strict Election Day deadline for receiving absentee ballots because election law was so commonly understood to prohibit any such grace period, period. In their view, the civil War provided a perfect example of this. In their retelling, states still rejected late arriving ballots from soldiers, even in a uniquely tenuous time where some grace period would have otherwise been obvious and desirable. There's just one problem with that. While some states did require soldiers ballots to reach election offices by election day, others didn't, such as those that permitted what was called unit level voting. Furthermore, the challenger's argument that states absentee voting rules reflected their deference to federal law was also lacking. Barrett writes, quote, plaintiffs theory is that if the relevant states could have changed the rules, they would have changed their rules. Yet despite a deep dive into the historical record, plaintiffs have found no evidence that any of these states wanted to extend ballot receipt deadlines, much less that they thought federal law prevented them from doing so. As a kicker, she lists an array of historical reasons other than compliance with federal law that states might have set an election day deadline for absentee ballots, like a desire to open soldier ballots in the public's presence, which was possible only if ballots arrived by the day the community gathered for in person voting to promote public trust in the results. In other words, historical precedent for ballots arriving by election day isn't necessarily a story of legal tradition, but of practical rules that states worked out for themselves. Barrett then addresses a second key point. The federal election day laws at the center of the case were enacted when the US had no mail in voting, excluding that Civil War absentee system, which operated much differently than how we vote by mail today. In the challenger's logic, wouldn't it follow that 19th century lawmakers inherently meant for only votes received by election day to count? But again, Justice Barrett delivers a strong rebuttal. Quote, Plaintiff's theory is that because we are governed by 19th century election day laws, we are also governed by 19th century voting practices, Barrett wrote. Quote carried to its logical conclusion, this theory would call into question the way modern elections work. And then she goes on to highlight early voting, which also did not exist in 19th century America as another practice imperiled by the challenger's logic. Statutes do not trap in amber every contemporary practice on the same subject matter, she concluded. To that I say hear, hear. Consider, for instance, maritime, railroad and communication laws from the 1800s that are still operative today but have been reinterpreted to account for modern developments. The Submarine Cable act of 1888, originally passed to protect submarine telegraph cables, is still part of the legal framework that governs modern submarine communications cables. The law criminalizes intentionally damaging submarine telegraph cables connecting the United States to other countries. But the question is should someone who destroys a, say, fiber optic cable be exempt from punishment because those cables didn't exist in 1888 or weren't referenced in that law? Or should Congress have to update the law to account for every development in cable technology since 1888 and beyond? Justice Samuel Alito's dissent had echoes of his majority opinions in last week's Temporary Protected Status and Asylum rule. Homing in on a strict definition of a key phrase last week he focused on when asylum seekers have, quote, arrived in the United States and the meaning of, quote, temporary in tps. Here, the key phrase is Election Day. Under his interpretation, early voting and mail in ballots when received by Election Day, are lawful because they are cast before or on the day of the election. But counting mail in ballots received after that day interferes with, quote, the critical act that occurs on Election Day, the completion of the collection of the ballots that embody the electorate's collective choice, end quote. Like much of Alito's jurisprudence, that argument has a kind of common sense appeal. But I think it misses a key point. The federal statute is much broader than the definition of Election Day that Alito himself advances. It does not say that the election must be completed on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. It just says that that day is Election Day. Alito goes on to list some practical consequences that he imagines of counting these late arriving votes, asking whether states should be able to create any grace period or allow couriers to deliver mail in ballots, or permit something other than a postmark to show when someone voted. Now, the first case isn't hypothetical. Washington State accepts Election Day marked ballots up to 21 days after the election. Other states have longer grace periods than Mississippi as well as but the others are, and they amount to effectively slippery slope arguments that aren't salient to the narrow question of timing that Barrett emphasizes in her opinion. Perhaps these issues that Alito flags arise in the future. That could happen. It's not necessarily happening now, but it could. But the key point is that they weren't before the Court in this case. And if we're speaking of practical consequences, this decision, while enormously important, would have had a much larger impact if the Court had struck down Mississippi's law. Rather than upend mail in voting nationwide, the ruling leaves each state's mail in voting rules as they are. Other widely adopted voting practices, like early voting, are also safe. And of course, in the future, state lawmakers can revise election rules as they see fit. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has called on the legislature in the wake of Monday's decision to repeal the current mail in ballot law, and it's well within its rights to do so if it wishes. But that will all happen within the normal legislative process, not through a sweeping High Court ruling which to me properly upholds states power to determine the times, the places and the manner of holding elections. All right, that is it for my take. Like I mentioned at the beginning, our new Associate Editor Karina Pacheco is going to be making her Tangle debut with a staffed assent to today's take. So now I'm going to hand it over to Karina and then and John will take us home with the rest of the edition. All right Karina, over to you.
Isaac Saul
Thanks Will. This is Associate Editor Corinna Pacheco with a staff dissent Usually I roll my eyes at Alito's strict definition of a key phrase, honing in on minutia while averting the bigger picture. But here he's right. It's Election Day, not Election Week or Election Fortnight or Election Month. The point of Election Day is to elect the candidates, and Alito's textual instincts here provide structure to our voting processes. While Barrett invites disorder just because the statute doesn't explicitly forbid post election counting, calling it Election Day implies nay provides a clear and obvious window. While I have faith in the sanctity of American elections and don't believe rampant election fraud is a real problem, deteriorating public trust certainly is, and confusing drawn out voting practices invite even more distrust and scrutiny. As Alito rightly notes, extending ballot counting by days and even weeks and sometimes not knowing results for just as long as should not be the norm in a functioning democracy. Just look at the United Kingdom, Taiwan, France and others. They require a range of centralized in person and electronic voting, and their strict deadlines ensure election results don't stretch into weeks. While I'm open to the argument that this is an issue for Congress, the Justices should have given more weight to the day in Election Day.
Dewey Thomas
We'll be right back after this quick break.
John Law
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Isaac Saul
All.
John Law
Peace.
Dewey Thomas
Our Executive Editor and founder is me, Isaac Saul, and our Executive Producer is John Mull. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is is led by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, with Senior Editor Will K. Back and Associate Editors Audrey Moorhead, Lindsay Knuth and Bailey Saw. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our website@retangle.com.
Isaac Saul
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Podcast: Tangle
Title: SCOTUS upholds Mississippi’s late-arriving ballot law
Date: June 30, 2026
Host: Isaac Saul; Lead Editor: Will K. Back
Topic: The Supreme Court’s 5–4 decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee upholding Mississippi’s law permitting mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later. The episode explores the decision's background, legal arguments, reactions from the left and right, and original analysis from the Tangle team.
Summary of Case:
In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law permitting mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five days.
The ruling rejected the argument that federal law mandates ballots be received by Election Day, stating that “Election Day” refers to when votes are cast, not when they are counted.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and the Court’s three liberal justices (Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson).
"The defining element of an election... has always been the electorate's choice of candidate. While federal law dictates when ballots must be cast, state law dictates when they must be received."
— Justice Amy Coney Barrett, reading majority (05:06)
Historical Context:
Majority:
Dissent (Justice Alito):
Argued Election Day historically meant collecting and receiving all ballots on that day.
Warned of the perception (if not the reality) of fraud if ballots arrive and are counted after Election Day.
Expressed concern about “drawn out” election resolutions and their impact on public trust.
"Having an election on a particular day meant completing ballot collection on that day."
— Justice Samuel Alito, dissent (05:57)
Practical Concerns Raised by Dissent:
General Sentiment: Strong support for decision; sees majority's approach as common sense and constitutionally sound.
Concerns: Some worry that the dissent’s rhetoric fuels “election fraud” conspiracies.
Key Points:
Emphasized that strict Election Day ballot receipt is unhistorical.
Criticized the dissent as fringe and motivated by unfounded voter fraud concerns.
"The greatest significance of Watson is that the court majority barely rejected a bonkers reading of a federal statute on the basis of voter fraud fantasies."
— Richard L. Hasen, Slate (11:20)
"When federal law set the date for the election, it set the day when the electorate must make its choice."
— Ian Millhiser, Vox (10:44)
Concern Over “Save America Act”: Expectation that this decision will refocus Republican energy on passing federal laws to tighten voting rules.
Warns this opens the door to fraud and public distrust, emphasizing the importance of “Election Day.”
Suggests that only Congress, not the courts, should set broader vote-counting rules.
"The majority’s decision opens Pandora’s box... creates suspicion."
— Wall Street Journal Editorial Board (12:34)
"If you can't get your act together to mail in your ballot before election Day, it shouldn't count."
— Matt Vespa, Town Hall (15:32)
"The very idea that ballots can be counted if they arrive after Election Day creates suspicion."
— Joel Pollack, New York Post (14:01)
Position: Supports the Court’s ruling and Mississippi’s law.
Rationale:
Acknowledges common sense appeal of strict deadlines but points to practical and historical realities: there have always been exceptions and state variation.
Notes that “Election Day” shouldn’t be an immutable relic—states need flexibility.
References historical laws being interpreted flexibly to accommodate modern developments.
"Statutes do not trap in amber every contemporary practice..."
— Justice Barrett, quoted by Will K. Back (21:23)
Memo on Political Reaction:
Worries drawn-out counting erodes trust.
Argues that “Election Day” as a legal construct should set a visible, finite window for voting and result determination.
Cites international models as examples of clean, deadline-driven electoral practices.
"It's Election Day, not Election Week or Election Fortnight or Election Month..."
— Karina Pacheco (27:47)
"Deteriorating public trust certainly is [a problem], and confusing, drawn out voting practices invite even more distrust and scrutiny."
— Karina Pacheco (27:59)
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:06 | Justice Barrett| "The defining element of an election, the term used in all three federal statutes has always been the electorate's choice of candidate..." | | 05:57 | Justice Alito | "Having an election on a particular day meant completing ballot collection on that day." | | 11:20 | Richard Hasen | "The greatest significance of Watson is that the court majority barely rejected a bonkers reading of a federal statute on the basis of voter fraud fantasies." | | 15:32 | Matt Vespa | "If you can't get your act together to mail in your ballot before election Day, it shouldn't count. There's plenty of time." | | 21:23 | Justice Barrett (quoted)| "Statutes do not trap in amber every contemporary practice on the same subject matter." | | 27:47 | Karina Pacheco | "It's Election Day, not Election Week or Election Fortnight or Election Month. The point of Election Day is to elect the candidates..." | | 27:59 | Karina Pacheco | "Deteriorating public trust certainly is [a problem], and confusing, drawn out voting practices invite even more distrust and scrutiny." |
| Segment | Time | |----------------------------------|-----------------------| | Introduction & Episode Theme | 00:18–02:49 | | News Rundown (Quick Hits) | 02:49–04:27 | | Overview of Supreme Court Ruling | 04:27–07:41 | | What the Left is Saying | 09:42–13:20 | | What the Right is Saying | 13:20–16:54 | | Will K. Back's Analysis | 16:54–27:45 | | Karina Pacheco's Dissent | 27:45–28:57 | | Historical Note (Taft) | 29:04–30:43 | | Concluding Remarks | 30:43–31:34 |
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