DEMOCRACY DOCKET — President Donald Trump and the GOP have launched a new offensive in their long-running war on voting. Their latest target? Ballots that arrive after Election Day.

It’s a multi-pronged assault. The U.S. Supreme Court could soon take up a Republican lawsuit aimed at barring states from accepting mail votes that come in after Election Day. An executive order signed by Trump in March aims to crack down on the practice. GOP-controlled states are passing new laws to ban these ballots. Congress has held hearings on the issue. And even the chair of a federal voting agency has signaled he’s on board with the effort. 

In sixteen states and Washington D.C., a grace period of varying lengths — Washington state’s is the longest at 21 days — allows mail ballots that arrive after Election Day to be counted as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, in part to ensure that voters aren’t disenfranchised by mail delays beyond their control. Several states created or lengthened their grace periods in response to the dramatic surge in mail voting spurred by the Covid crisis of 2020.