Election Help Desk: 11/3/20

Tuesday's election updates . Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk Welcome to Ballotpedia's Election Help Desk Newsletter. In each issue, we: Detail the changes to election dates and procedures since our last edition Track lawsuits from the presidential campaigns and major political parties Answer one frequently asked question about the election List upcoming election process dates and deadlines We understand you may have questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. This is our final pre-election newsletter. After this, you'll receive shorter updates about twice a day in which we track the number and status of called races, uncalled races, recounts, and potential lawsuits. We’ll be here to help you process and understand the results.  Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive your copy here.  Days until election day: 0         Recent news Lawsuits To date, we have tracked 423 lawsuits and/or court orders involving election policy issues and the COVID-19 outbreak. Click here to view the complete list of lawsuits and court orders. Here's the latest on noteworthy litigation. Examples of noteworthy litigation include lawsuits filed by presidential campaigns and major political parties, and state supreme court cases. Nevada: On Nov. 2, Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson declined Republicans' request to delay the processing and counting on mail-in ballots in Clark County. Republicans – including Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and the Republican Party of Nevada – alleged deficiencies in signature verification and observation protocols.  Wilson said: "Petitioners seem to request unlimited access to all areas of the ballot counting area and observation of all information involved in the ballot counting process so they can verify the validity of the ballot, creating in effect a second tier of ballot counters and/or concurrent auditors of the ballot counting election workers. Petitioners failed to cite any constitutional provision, statute, rule, or case that supports such a request."  Nevada Republican Party Chair Michael McDonald criticized the ruling: "This is a dark day in our state's history, but our fight for a free, fair, and transparent election is not over." McDonald said Republicans were considering whether to appeal the decision to the state supreme court.  Background: On Oct. 23, Republicans sued Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (R) and Clark County Registrar of Voters Joseph Gloria. The plaintiffs sought "a temporary restraining order barring [the defendants] from separating or counting ballots in Clark County until the proper procedures are in place that facilitate transparency and allow for meaningful observation of the process by the public."  On Oct. 23, Wilson declined at that time to intervene and block Clark County officials from processing and counting mail-in ballots. Wilson scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct. 28. The Oct. 28 hearing prompted Wilson's Nov. 2 order.  Today: Result certification dates The Help Desk daily feature will answer one frequently asked question or provide a summary of key election dates and policies each day. Today we take a look at result certification dates. Election results are finalized through processes called canvassing and certification. Canvassing generally refers to how state and local officials confirm the validity of ballots cast in an election. Certification is the process authorities use to formalize the election results based on the canvass. However, some states, localities, and commentators use the terms interchangeably to describe the entire process of counting ballots and formalizing results. Election result certification deadlines are set in state law. Certification deadlines for the 2020 election are as follows: The certification deadline in six states is within one week of the election. In 26 states and the District of Columbia, the certification deadline is between November 10 and November 30. In 14 states, the certification deadline is in December. Four states (Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Tennessee) do not have statutory deadlines for results certification.  The chart below displays the certification deadline in each state in order from soonest to latest. To learn more about how results will be finalized after today's elections, click here. What we’re reading today New York Times: “November Surprise: Fewer Ballots Rejected by Election Officials” FiveThirtyEight: “When To Expect Election Results In Every State” Washington Post: “Here are the voting lawsuits that could lead to post-election fights over ballots” NBC News: “Beware the 'blue mirage' and the 'red mirage' on election night” Upcoming dates and deadlines Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have secondary receipt deadlines for absentee/mail-in ballots. In these states, ballots must generally be postmarked on or before Election Day, but they will be accepted if received within a certain number of days after Nov. 3. These secondary receipt deadlines are listed below in chronological order.  For coverage of all dates, deadlines, and requirements, click here. Absentee/mail-in voting secondary receipt deadlines Nov. 4: Texas Nov. 6: Kansas Kentucky Massachusetts Pennsylvania Virginia Nov. 9: Iowa West Virginia Nov. 10: Minnesota Mississippi Nevada New Jersey New York Nov. 12: North Carolina Nov. 13: Alaska District of Columbia Maryland Ohio Nov. 17: Illinois Nov. 20: California And a dose of calm