Supreme Court rules states can count mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day if postmarked on time

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 29, 2026 that states may count mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day if postmarked by Election Day, rejecting a Republican National Committee challenge to Mississippi's law allowing ballots to arrive within five business days. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority that federal election-day statutes do not require ballots to be received by Election Day, upholding similar laws in fourteen states, Washington DC, and three US territories. The RNC and Trump administration called the decision a loss and demanded Congress pass the Save America Act requiring proof of citizenship, while voting rights advocates celebrated the protection against voter disenfranchisement. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called on the state legislature to repeal the law despite the Court's affirmation of state authority over election procedures.

Supreme Court mail-in ballot ruling

• ▪The US Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2026 that mail-in ballots arriving after election day can be counted if postmarked by election day
• ▪A ruling against Mississippi and late-arriving ballots could have created confusion for voters and elections officials with midterm primaries and elections underway in 2026
• ▪The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Watson v. Republican National Committee (June 29, 2026) in favor of allowing late-arriving mail-in ballots to be counted.
• ▪Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined Amy Coney Barrett in the majority opinion
• ▪Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissenting opinion joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining in part

Republican challenge to Mississippi law

• ▪Mississippi changed its mail-in ballot law in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic
• ▪Mississippi solicitor general Scott Stewart said during oral arguments in March 2026 that nobody has cited a single example in history of a voter recalling their ballot through the mail to change their vote
• ▪The Supreme Court case was titled Watson v Republican National Committee
• ▪The Republican National Committee argued that the grace period after election day violates federal laws that set election day for the first Tuesday of November

State authority over election procedures

• ▪Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called on the Mississippi legislature to repeal the state law allowing late-arriving ballots and require ballots to be received by 5pm on election day to be counted

Trump response to court decision

• ▪Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that there is only one reason to oppose proof of citizenship requirements: cheating
• ▪Donald Trump voted by mail in March 2026 in the special election for House district 87, which encompasses Mar-a-Lago
• ▪Donald Trump refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill in June 2026 unless Congress moves the Save America Act forward
• ▪Donald Trump called on Congress to pass the Save America Act following the Supreme Court ruling
• ▪Donald Trump called the Supreme Court ruling a tremendous loss in a post on Truth Social on June 29, 2026

RNC response to court decision

• ▪RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said the Republican National Committee will keep fighting to have elections end on Election Day
• ▪Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves disagreed with the Supreme Court decision and with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett for siding with the three liberal justices
• ▪The Republican National Committee called on Congress to pass the Save America Act following the Supreme Court decision

Voting rights advocacy groups

• ▪Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said on June 29, 2026 that a ballot mailed on time is a vote cast on time
• ▪The Supreme Court decided on April 29, 2026 to allow Louisiana to effectively dismantle the Voting Rights Act, depriving Black voters of their ability to elect members of Congress of their choosing