Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots, rejecting Trump-led challenge

Court preserves ballot grace periods

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that states may count mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive after Election Day, preserving grace-period laws in more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C.

The decision is a major win for election officials in states that give voters extra time for mail delivery. It also removes, for now, a major legal threat to ballot-counting rules that voting-rights advocates say help account for postal delays.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion in Watson v. Republican National Committee. Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices joined her. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the dissent, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined part of the dissent.

The Mississippi case

The dispute centered on Mississippi's five-business-day grace period for mailed ballots received after Election Day if they were postmarked on or before that day.

A federal appeals court had struck down the rule before the Supreme Court reversed that outcome. The challenge was brought by the Republican National Committee and backed by Donald Trump and his administration.

The ruling reaches beyond Mississippi because similar rules are used in states that count ballots after Election Day if they were timely mailed. Coverage cited in the research packet says the decision preserves those systems in more than a dozen states, plus Washington, D.C.

What the court said

Barrett said federal election-day statutes do not require ballots to be received by Election Day. In the majority's view, that leaves the question to state legislatures and Congress.

That reasoning matters because it keeps existing state grace-period laws in place unless lawmakers change them. It also means the Court did not create a new national ballot-receipt deadline.

Election administrators do not face an immediate need to rewrite ballot-counting rules before the 2026 midterm elections. For states with late-arriving ballot rules, the ruling offers legal stability as they prepare for higher-turnout federal races.

Political reaction and stakes

Trump denounced the ruling and renewed his push for the SAVE America Act, according to the reporting.

The case sits within Trump's broader effort to restrict mail voting after his long-running fraud claims about the 2020 election. It is also part of a wider political fight over how much flexibility states should have when ballots are delayed in transit.

The decision has practical consequences for military and overseas voters, whose ballots can face longer travel times. It also matters for any state that relies on postmark-based counting to avoid disenfranchising voters whose ballots arrive late through no fault of their own.

What comes next

The immediate legal question over Mississippi's grace period is settled, but the broader debate over mail voting is not.

Court watchers will be looking for formal reactions from state election officials and voting-rights groups. Congress could also revisit mail-voting legislation before the midterms, including the SAVE America Act or related proposals.

Lower-court disputes and state-level challenges may also cite the ruling in pending cases. For now, though, election officials in states with ballot-receipt grace periods can continue operating under the current rules.