The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, 5-4, that federal law does not bar states from counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were cast by then.
The case, Republican National Committee v. Watson, concerned a Mississippi law that requires ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five business days. Thirteen states have similar grace-period laws.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said federal election law focused on when voters made their choice, not when election officials received ballots.
“The electorate’s choice is made when voting is complete, not when ballots are received,” Barrett wrote.
Barrett said the ruling addressed only the interpretation of federal law, not the U.S. Constitution or Congress’ broader authority to regulate federal elections.
Barrett was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“If ballots received after election day are added to the set of ballots that dictate the election’s outcome, the electorate’s choice does not occur on election day, and the federal election-day statutes are violated,” Alito wrote.
Other states with some form of grace period are Alaska, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
The Republican National Committee challenged the Mississippi law, which was defended by Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican. The committee argued that the federal law setting Election Day for federal offices preempted state laws allowing ballots cast by Election Day but received later to count.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in October 2024 that ballots had to be received by Election Day. Trump also sought last year, through an executive order on elections, to require mail ballots to arrive by the close of polls. Much of that order was blocked in federal court.
At least 725,000 ballots were postmarked by Election Day in 2024 and arrived within a legally accepted post-election window. About 30% of voters cast a mail ballot in 2024, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
The decision came as disputes over mail voting continued. In March, Trump signed an executive order to restrict voting by mail by requiring states to provide lists of possible mail ballot voters to the U.S. Postal Service in advance. A federal judge recently blocked major portions of that order. The case is developing.
