Key facts
- The U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws that allow mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted.
- The ruling rejected a Republican challenge to Mississippi's five-day grace period for mail-in ballots.
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and three liberal justices.
- Four conservative justices dissented from the decision.
- The court's decision impacts laws in about 30 states and the District of Columbia that accept later-arriving ballots.
- The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a Republican challenge to Arizona voter registration laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld state laws that permit mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted, delivering a setback to President Donald Trump and Republicans who had challenged Mississippi's five-day grace period. In a 5-4 decision, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that had found the state's law inconsistent with federal statutes governing federal election timing.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, with Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices forming the majority. The dissenting opinion was filed by Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. Mississippi's law allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received up to five business days later, a practice mirrored in about 30 other states and the District of Columbia.
The challenge was brought by the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, and other plaintiffs, with the Trump administration supporting their efforts. Republicans have expressed skepticism about the security of mail-in ballots, though evidence of widespread fraud is rare. Trump had previously vowed to end the use of mail-in ballots nationwide.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled in favor of the challengers, stating the measure was preempted by federal laws. The Supreme Court's decision impacts voting practices nationwide, potentially affecting millions of voters. Separately, the Supreme Court's conservative majority recently weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it harder to challenge electoral maps for racial discrimination.