Supreme Court Rules 5-4 That Mail-In Ballots Can Arrive After Election Day And Still Count

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that states may continue to count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day provided they were postmarked by Election Day, a loss for the Republican National Committee, which brought the case, ahead of this November's midterm elections.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee, wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices.

The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, centered on a Mississippi law allowing absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted if received within five days after the election.

The RNC sued in 2024, arguing the practice violated federal law setting a uniform Election Day. The court disagreed.

"Nothing in the federal election-day statutes requires ballots to be received by election day," Barrett wrote.

The federal statutes set a deadline for when voters must make their choice, Election Day, but impose no deadline on when ballots must physically arrive. "The electorate's choice is made when voting is complete, not when ballots are received."

Mississippi is one of roughly 30 states that count at least some absentee ballots mailed by Election Day but received afterward.

Had the court ruled the other way, 14 states, three US territories and Washington DC would have been forced to change their election laws before November.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the dissent, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch and in part by Kavanaugh.

Alito argued that accepting late-arriving ballots "effectively postpones the date on which the electorate's choice is made" and warned the ruling would "exacerbate voters' distrust."