WASHINGTON, DC – Today, in reaction to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s error-riddled ruling that echoes President Trump’s false talking points about how states have and will count votes in this year’s elections, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

“Every American who cares about the integrity of our democracy should be appalled by Justice Kavanaugh’s sloppy and dangerous opinion that echoes President Trump’s false statements about mail-in ballots.

“The Trump-Kavanaugh view is a slap in the face to every member of the U.S. military who is serving abroad, or at any location outside their state of residency right now, as well as anyone taking precautions due to the pandemic, and casting their votes through the mail.  President Trump may not want their votes counted.  Justice Kavanaugh may wrongly believe that people who vote absentee shouldn’t have their votes counted after midnight on Election Day, but the fact remains: every American who legally casts their ballot has a right to have their vote counted.

“The goal is to count every vote accurately and fairly.  Contrary to Justice Kavanaugh’s misguided belief, absentee ballots post-marked before Election Day don’t “flip the results of an election.”  Those votes are part of the results of the election.  They must be counted.  And good people across the political spectrum should all agree that people who vote legally and people who vote on time should have their votes counted.”