📬 WA can still count late mail-in votes

Supreme Court Decision: WA Mail-In-Voting Will Stay As Is

In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states can still count ballots that arrive after Election Day. This ruling rejected a Republican National Committee effort to stop states from counting all ballots that arrive after the close of the polls. Under current state law, ballots postmarked on or before Election Day in Washington can be received and counted up to 20 days after the election. For more in-depth discussion, tune into today’s podcast 🎧 [Washington State Standard]

• Grace periods in 14 states: Including Washington, there are more than a dozen states with similar “grace period” laws that allow ballots to be counted after Election Day. There are also 30 states that accept military and overseas ballots delivered after Election Day. The Supreme Court case centered on whether federal law overrides a Mississippi law that requires mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted as long as they arrive within five business days of the election. [Seattle Times]
• Regulating the voting process: The Court majority pointed out that while Congress decides on Election Day, the states choose how to regulate the voting process. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said that federal law didn’t preempt the state law because elections represent when voters make a decision, which must be done on or before Election Day. Barrett wrote that voters who cast their ballots by mail have made a decision by Election Day. However, she also wrote that if Congress passes a nationwide ballot arrival deadline, the justices might uphold such a law. [Washington State Standard]
• Vote-by-mail still embattled, despite high usage: In King County, 66.9% of voters used a drop box to cast their ballots, which leaves 33.1% of voters who use the postal system to turn in their ballots. This is consistent with the 30% of voters across the US who cast a mail ballot in 2024, according to data gathered by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. However, the state GOP is still urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would impose strict voter ID requirements, likely upending Washington’s current vote-by-mail system. [Seattle Times]

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Surge in independent unions: Workers from Neumos, Barboza, and The Runaway (Fokus Industries LLC) sent a letter of demands to management signed by 75% of staff in March. Earlier this month, management met with Neumos Workers United to work on those demands. This is part of a surge in independent unionization for Seattle’s restaurants, bars, and clubs and a national increase in union membership. [Capitol Hill Seattle Blog]

🔗 WA joins joint carbon market: California, Quebec, and Washington state have agreed to merge their markets for carbon pollution. The agreement, signed last week, will allow polluters to buy and sell carbon allowances from anywhere in the three jurisdictions by 2027. The carbon auctions produce billions in revenue to fund clean-energy projects. Together the three jurisdictions are equivalent to the world’s fourth-largest economy. [KUOW]

⏱️ Rainier Beach faces violence prevention cuts: A city contract focused on violence intervention in Rainier Beach comes to an end today. As a result, thirteen staff members of non-profit Community Passageways are losing their jobs. More than 50 Community Passageways staff, student participants, and community members went to City Hall to ask the City Council to intervene. [South Seattle Emerald]