The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal election law doesn’t require mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day, only postmarked on election day. This is a significant loss to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and hurts Trump’s executive order targeting mail ballot grace periods. The majority opinion was written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee.
The Law At Issue
Mississippi permits certain residents, such as college students away from home and senior citizens, to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. Mississippi is one of roughly 30 sates that count at least a few of the absentee ballots that are mailed by election day but received afterward. All of these ballots must be “postmarked on or before the date of the election and received by the registrar no more than five business days after the election.”
The RNC’s Argument
In 2024 the RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and many other individuals sued the Mississippi Secretary of State, Michael Watson, and many elections officials. They contended that federal law prevents Mississippi from counting absentee ballots received after election day. According to the plaintiffs, the election day statutes use the word “election to refer to two acts: ballot casting, and ballot receipt. So by setting the day for the “election” these statutes set the deadline for both.
The district court granted summary judgment to Mississippi finding no conflict with federal law. The Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that Mississippi’s statute is preempted because the federal election day statutes require ballots to be received by election by election day. The Supreme Court then agreed to hear the case.
The Supreme Court said “election” means the act of choosing, not the act of receiving ballots. Since Mississippi requires ballots postmarked by Election Day, voters are making their choices on time.
Justice Barrett, a Trump appointee wrote the majority opinion joined by Roberts and all three liberal justices. Alito dissented joined by Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh partially joined the dissent.
Roughly 30 states mail ballot laws are now protected from this type of federal challenge. Trump signed an executive order in early 2025 attempting to ban mail ballot grace periods nationwide, the ruling today pulls the legal rug from beneath it.
Whether you see this as a win or a loss, is for you to decide.
-Elijah Iraheta, Editor in Chief, Saber News.
