Members of Count Every Hero, retired military leaders and diplomats, and organizations representing overseas voters file an amicus brief in Watson v. RNC, urging the Supreme Court to protect state ballot receipt deadlines that are critical for ensuring the votes of service members and their families are counted.
Washington, DC — A coalition of fifty-five defense officials, military leaders, and diplomats—including members of Count Every Hero—and nonpartisan organizations representing military and overseas families filed an amicus brief in Watson v. RNC in the U.S. Supreme Court. They filed the brief in support of Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, warning that a Fifth Circuit decision invalidating state ballot receipt grace periods would exacerbate the “steep barriers” faced by military and overseas voters. In the brief, these leaders emphasize that mailed absentee ballots are often the only accessible option for military members and their families. They argue that removing receipt grace periods—which allow timely mailed ballots to be counted if they arrive within specified windows shortly after Election Day—would lead to widespread disenfranchisement.
The amicus brief highlights that 30 states and the District of Columbia currently utilize such grace periods to account for unavoidable mail delays. The leaders noted that Congress has long respected these state-level rules, citing a century of legislative history—including the Soldier Voting Act of 1944 and the MOVE Act of 2009—which consistently deferred to state ballot receipt deadlines rather than imposing a restrictive federal ceiling.
Furthermore, the brief details the “manifold obstacles” of voting from overseas, including real-world examples of ballots taking six to eight weeks to arrive or requiring voters to spend upwards of $100 on private couriers just to attempt to participate in our democracy.
Read the full amicus brief here.