The Supreme Court handed Republicans a major legal defeat Monday, ruling that states may continue counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day so long as they were postmarked on time.
In a 5-4 decision, the high court rejected a challenge brought by the Republican National Committee, finding that Mississippi’s ballot receipt deadline does not conflict with the federal law establishing Election Day.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by the court’s three liberal justices and two conservatives. The ruling marks a setback for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticized mail-in voting and argued, without providing evidence, that it is vulnerable to widespread fraud.
The decision also preserves existing election procedures ahead of November’s midterm elections, avoiding a shake-up that could have affected voting rules in multiple states.
Mississippi is one of 14 states that allow election officials to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, provided they were postmarked by the deadline. California, New York and Texas have similar laws.
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts
According to NBC News, hundreds of thousands of ballots cast in the 2024 election were counted after arriving following Election Day under those state laws, representing a small but notable share of the overall vote.
A ruling in favor of the RNC also could have complicated voting rules for Americans living overseas, including military personnel. A brief filed by former national security officials noted that 29 states extend ballot receipt deadlines for those voters.
Under Mississippi law, mail-in ballots may be counted if they arrive within five days after Election Day and were mailed on or before the deadline.
The RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi challenged the law, while Republican Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch defended it.
Mississippi appealed to SCOTUS after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in October 2024 that federal law requires ballots to be both cast and received by Election Day.
Federal law sets Election Day as “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November,” though states remain responsible for administering their own elections.
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