Supreme Court upholds Mississippi law allowing some mail ballots to arrive after Election Day
The Facts
- The Supreme Court upheld Mississippi’s law allowing certain mail ballots to be counted after Election Day.
- The Mississippi law allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received up to five business days later.
- The court ruled 5-4 in the case.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices.
- The court held that federal statutes setting Election Day do not bar states from counting ballots that were cast by Election Day but arrive later.
- The case was brought by Republicans challenging Mississippi’s grace-period law, including the Republican National Committee.
- The ruling has implications beyond Mississippi because other states also have laws allowing some late-arriving mail ballots to be counted.
- The decision leaves unresolved the broader political fight over mail voting, with President Donald Trump criticizing the ruling after it was issued.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- Ballots cast by Election Day can still be counted under state law when mail delays push delivery later, and federal Election Day statutes do not forbid it.
- They split on
- Whether the story is about protecting voters from disenfranchisement caused by mail delays, or about preserving state authority when federal law sets no national rule.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
What exactly did the court decide?
The court said federal laws establishing Election Day do not prevent states from counting mail ballots that were cast by that day but arrive afterward, so Mississippi’s grace-period law can remain in effect POLITICO,Aol,CBS News.
Why does this matter outside Mississippi?
Multiple reports say other states also allow some late-arriving mail ballots to count, so the ruling helps preserve similar rules elsewhere as election officials prepare for the midterms NYT,BBC,WSJ.
Does this change voting rules in every state?
No. States without a grace-period law are not automatically affected. For example, Wisconsin still requires absentee ballots to be in clerks’ hands by 8 p.m. on Election Day Journal Sentinel,CBS News.
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Wire services (5)
Independent coverage (50)
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