The state’s highest court rejected a bid by state and national Republicans, former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and a voter, Scott Johnston, to block them from being counted.
The court challenge came after Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, told county election officials in May that ballots without a visible postmark should be counted until 5 p.m. the Friday after Election Day. This year, that is Nov. 8.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Claire Zunk said in a statement the court decision "undermined the integrity of Nevada’s elections.”
Nevada is one of seven battleground states where the result in next week’s presidential election is expected to be very close, along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
It is one of eight states with what is commonly called all-mail elections, and one of 19 states that allows for counting of postmarked ballots after Election Day.
A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Mississippi cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day, but the decision was not expected to affect the Nov. 5 election. The ruling noted that federal courts have in the past discouraged taking actions that change established procedures shortly before an election.