The Supreme Court has ruled that mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day can be counted in Mississippi, provided they are postmarked by Election Day. This 5-4 decision allows a grace period of up to five business days for these ballots to be counted, marking a significant development for election procedures.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's liberal justices in the majority opinion. The ruling stems from a legal challenge brought by the Republican National Committee and several local Republican parties against Mississippi's policy. The RNC and its allies argued that the state's law violated federal statutes establishing a national Election Day.
At least 13 other states have similar provisions allowing late-counted ballots, and nearly 30 states offer some form of extended time for mail-in ballots to be counted. California is often cited as an example of a state where election results can take more than a week to finalize due to its extended ballot counting period.
During oral arguments in March, the court appeared divided. Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by Democratic presidents, expressed concerns about overturning established practices in numerous states and questioned the RNC's position. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by Republican presidents, seemed inclined to overturn the Mississippi law, while Roberts and Barrett's leanings were less clear.
This decision comes as former President Donald Trump has advocated for stricter mail-in ballot regulations and a proof of citizenship requirement for federal elections, including support for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which has faced challenges in the Senate. The case, Watson v. RNC, was one of several election-related cases on the Supreme Court's docket with implications for upcoming elections.