A National Controversy: Voting Ballots

Mississippi lets voters who can’t be at the polls, like college students away from home and senior citizens, vote absentee in federal elections. Under state law, those ballots count as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and reach the registrar within five business days afterward. In 2024, the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, and several individuals sued state election officials, arguing that federal law doesn’t allow it. Their position was that the federal statutes setting a single day for electing the president and members of Congress mean every ballot has to be in the hands of election officials by the end of that day.

The Fifth Circuit agreed and ruled that Mississippi’s grace period was preempted by federal law. That put it at odds with roughly 30 states that count at least some mail ballots arriving after Election Day, including those sent by military and overseas voters. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, took the case to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear it in November 2025. It was argued on March 23, 2026, and decided on June 29, 2026, in an opinion by Justice Barrett.

The RNC argued that an “election” includes both casting a ballot and getting it to election officials, so federal law fixes a single deadline for both. Allowing ballots to trickle in after Election Day, it said, invites fraud and wears down public confidence in the results. The Trump administration backed that view.

Mississippi argued that the federal statutes only say when voting must happen, not when ballots must arrive. A voter who mails a ballot on or before Election Day has made their choice by the deadline, and nothing in federal law tells states how long they can take to receive it.

A 5–4 Court sided with Mississippi, holding that the federal Election Day statutes do not require ballots to be received by Election Day. Justice Barrett wrote that the defining feature of an election is the voters’ act of choosing, and that choice is complete when ballots are cast, not when they are delivered. She also pointed to federal law that already allows late-arriving military and overseas ballots, which she said supports the idea that Congress left receipt deadlines to the states. The majority rejected the RNC’s arguments from history and election integrity, noting that the historical record is mixed and that the question before the Court was a narrow one about timing.

Chief Justice Roberts joined Barrett and the Court’s three liberal justices in the majority, an unusual lineup. Justice Alito’s dissent, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch and, in part, Justice Kavanaugh, argued that counting ballots after Election Day effectively moves the date when the electorate’s choice is made, which federal law doesn’t allow. He pointed to two centuries of historical practice and warned that drawn-out counting creates openings for fraud and further erodes trust in elections.

The ruling keeps grace periods in place in 14 states and Washington, D.C., just months before the 2026 midterms, and it spares election officials from rewriting their rules on short notice. It does not settle the broader fight over mail voting, and other challenges are still working through the courts. The majority also left room for Congress to set a national receipt deadline if it wants one.