I don't think that's going to be the case.
Statute may say one thing, but it has to comply with the Constitution -- not the other way around.
What you're apparently missing is that it doesn't matter what a class of voter allows (like military ballots), the Constitution says that Congress has the say on federal ballots when it comes to the time (date) of voting, and that date has been set as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November on even numbered years.
Any state law that allows votes to be received past that date violates the Constitution for federal elections. The only solution is to give the voter multiple ballots; one for federal elections that must be received by election day, and one for state races that can be received up to any day that the state legislature chooses.
-PJ
Sorry, I got interrupted when answering you last time and I sort of lost not just my train of thought but the whole track.
I believe you are referring to 2.U.S.Codes 1&7. Those codes establish the election date for Senators and Representatives. 3 U.S. Code 21 establishes the date for the election of the President and Vice President.
I agree that there is one day on which votes are to be cast. The question is by what date must officials receive the ballots and do states have the authority to establish a grace period?
This section “... if the State modifies the period of voting, as necessitated by force majeure events that are extraordinary and catastrophic, as provided under laws of the State enacted prior to such day, “election day” shall include the modified period of voting.”
You may disagree but I think “period of voting” would be from the day votes are cast to when they are received by state officials. This means (IMHO) that Congress only intended that such force majeure events would be cause to count votes post election day. Provisions are already made in federal law for military and overseas ballots.
In other words, only acts of God are reason for a state to change how and when votes are cast and received. Such changes will be already defined and established in state law prior to election day. I think that pretty much means that is the only exception to when the period of voting is to be altered.