Why it matters: Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was part of a 5-3 majority against allowing Wisconsin to count mail-in ballots that arrive up to six days after Election Day (but were postmarked by Election Day).
- All ballots must now be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
- "Under the U.S. Constitution, the state courts do not have a blank check to rewrite state election laws for federal elections," Kavanaugh wrote.
The big picture: More than 66 million people have already voted — roughly 2/3 by mail — putting "this year’s election on pace for a historic rate of participation not seen since the early 1900s," the WashPost reports.
Early voting as a share of the total 2016 vote, per the N.Y. Times:
- Texas: 82%
- North Carolina: 67%
- Georgia: 66%
- Florida: 63%
- Arizona: 60%
- Wisconsin: 45%
- Michigan: 43%
- Minnesota: 40%
- Ohio: 39%
- Pennsylvania: 28%
The bottom line: "[T]urnout has surged ... in cities and rural America, in battlegrounds ... and in unexpected places that have not had competitive races in years," WashPost reports.
- "Election Day will feel substantially different from those in past years, with a smaller, more Republican turnout."
