The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal law permits mail-in ballots to arrive after Election Day, upholding grace periods in 30 states. The decision rejected Republican and Libertarian Party challenges to a Mississippi law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five business days. Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's liberals in the majority, with Barrett writing that election-day statutes do not set a receipt deadline. A ruling against the law would have forced states to revamp procedures and created uncertainty ahead of November.
The ruling gives Democrats a rare victory at the conservative-controlled Supreme Court, but its impact on the upcoming election remains unclear. Mail voting accounted for 30% of turnout in the 2024 election, and the GOP increasingly depends on such ballots despite President Donald Trump's crusade against them. Trump, who has claimed mail ballots lead to widespread fraud, voted by mail himself this year in a Florida special election. The case featured an unusual split, with Mississippi's Republican attorney general defending the law against the Republican National Committee and the Trump administration.
The decision preserves a patchwork of state deadlines, with 14 states and D.C. offering grace periods for all ballots and 15 more for military and overseas voters. Mississippi made its five-day rule permanent after extending it during the pandemic. Trump is separately pursuing an executive order to restrict USPS ballot delivery to a government-created voter list. What to watch next: Whether Trump's executive order on mail ballot delivery survives legal challenges and how states adjust their procedures before November.
Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court upheld mail-in ballot grace periods in 30 states, rejecting Republican arguments for strict deadlines.
- Justice Barrett and Chief Justice Roberts joined liberals in the 5-4 majority, citing no federal receipt deadline in election law.
- The ruling is a rare Democratic win at the conservative court, but its practical effect is limited as GOP voters increasingly use mail ballots.
- Trump continues to oppose mail voting despite voting by mail himself and pursuing an executive order to restrict ballot delivery.
Insights & Analysis
- The decision may reduce legal chaos before November but does not resolve partisan tensions over mail voting, which will remain a flashpoint in future elections.
- Trump's executive order on USPS ballot delivery could face swift court challenges, potentially creating a new battleground over voting access that tests the limits of executive power.