Washington, Oct 29 (AP) The Supreme Court will allow absentee ballots in North Carolina to be received and counted up to 9 days after Election Day, in a win for Democrats.

The justices on Wednesday refused to disturb a decision by the State Board of Elections to lengthen the period from three to nine days, pushing back the deadline to November 12.

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The board's decision was part of a legal settlement with a union-affiliated group.

Under the Supreme Court's order, mailed ballots postmarked on or before Election Day must be received by 5 pm on November 12 in order to be counted.

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Three conservative justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, dissented.

New Justice Amy Coney Barrett took no part in the case.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)