Supreme Court to Decide on Mail Ballot Deadline

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up whether states can accept mail-in ballots received after polls close if they are sent by Election Day, allowing for a decision ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has targeted the practice, and it convinced a lower court that Mississippi’s statute is preempted by federal law.

In a brief order, the high court agreed to hear Mississippi’s bid to overturn the ruling. Oral arguments are likely next year, with a decision expected by the summer that could dictate whether the practice can be used anywhere ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Federal law sets the first Tuesday in November as Election Day. Republicans have argued any states that accept ballots afterward contravene the requirement.

“Allowing states to count large numbers of mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day undermines trust and confidence in our elections,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement.

“Elections must end on Election Day, which is why the RNC led the way in challenging this harmful state law. The RNC has been hard at work litigating this case for nearly two years, and we hope the Supreme Court will affirm the Fifth Circuit’s landmark decision that mail-in ballots received after Election Day cannot be counted.”

Sixteen states count those late-arriving ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Supreme Court battle pits the RNC against GOP officials in Mississippi defending its law. The state urged the justices to get involved now, saying a resolution was needed before next year’s contests.

“The stakes are high: ballots cast by—but received after—election day can swing close races and change the course of the country,” the state attorney general’s office wrote.

The RNC acknowledged the issue is important, but it argued the lower court got it right and didn’t merit the justices’ review.

“It should await a case where the lower court answers the question presented incorrectly, should one ever arise,” the RNC wrote in court filings.

Already this term, the court agreed to decide who has the legal right to bring such lawsuits. Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and two of Trump’s electors are appealing a ruling that found they can’t challenge Illinois’s law. Oral arguments took place last month.

But in the new case, Mississippi does not dispute that the RNC can bring its lawsuit, and lower courts agreed the party had standing to proceed, providing a cleaner path for the justices to reach the underlying legal merits of the practice.