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Supreme Court decision on late ballots underlines need for voter ID

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The Supreme Court surprised observers Monday by allowing states to count ballots that arrive after Election Day. But just because something is constitutional doesn’t make it right, or smart.

The case involved a Mississippi law, not a California one. Mississippi allows ballots to be accepted if they arrive up to five days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked in time. California’s standard is more lenient, allowing ballots to arrive up to seven days late.

The system has made California notorious for its interminable delays, and for Election Night leads that turn into painful defeats in close races by the time the mail-in ballots are counted. 

The very idea that ballots can be counted if they arrive after Election Day creates suspicion. Why wouldn’t political campaigns just wait to see how many votes they need to make up after Election Night, then slip through as many ballots as they........

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