That's a great point regarding the provisional. I wonder though how easily that would be to implement, but it does seem that the legislature would have to legislate that for it to be an "out" for this situation.
My gut feeling is the court will find a compelling state interest.
Running the elections is usually an executive function (VA might be different, idk), so implementing only has logistical considerations. Shouldn't be that hard, just flag their voter ID instead of striking it, and separate the votes into a separate basket, to be left uncounted unless and until ordered to by a court. And when that happens, the circumstances and the totals will all be known.
Of course if the votes only show up electronically and not on paper, that's a separate issue.
But if the courts have common sense, you're right: the compelling state interest should rule the day. Let's see what happens.
That's a great point regarding the provisional. I wonder though how easily that would be to implement, but it does seem that the legislature would have to legislate that for it to be an "out" for this situation.
My gut feeling is the court will find a compelling state interest.
Running the elections is usually an executive function (VA might be different, idk), so implementing only has logistical considerations. Shouldn't be that hard, just flag their voter ID instead of striking it, and separate the votes into a separate basket, to be left uncounted unless and until ordered to by a court. And when that happens, the circumstances and the totals will all be known.
Of course if the votes only show up electronically and not on paper, that's a separate issue.
But if the courts have common sense, you're right: the compelling state interest should rule the day. Let's see what happens.