The Supreme Court sided with states on Monday, rejecting a Republican National Committee challenge to laws that count mail-in ballots arriving days after Election Day. The 5-4 decision keeps intact ballot grace periods in over a dozen states and Washington DC, preserving voting procedures that have drawn fire from Donald Trump and GOP leadership.
At issue was a Mississippi law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five business days. The RNC argued this violates federal statutes designating a single election day, contending the word "election" in those laws means ballots must be both cast and received on the same date.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal justices. The conservative Barrett rejected arguments that counting late-arriving ballots undermines election integrity. "Plaintiffs' policy arguments about election integrity and voter confidence are properly directed to legislatures, not courts," she wrote.
Barrett dismissed the RNC's historical argument as flawed, noting that 19th-century voting practices need not govern modern statutory interpretation. "Statutes do not trap in amber every contemporary practice on the same subject matter," she wrote.
Four justices dissented. Samuel Alito, joined by Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, argued that Election Day is a fixed date, not a span. John Kavanaugh joined in part of Alito's opinion.
The ruling arrives as the Supreme Court has already reshaped election law this term. Earlier, the court allowed Louisiana to effectively dismantle Voting Rights Act protections, opening the door to aggressive gerrymandering across the South and stripping Black voters of their ability to elect representatives of their choice.
Fourteen states plus DC and three territories have similar late-ballot provisions. Mississippi moved to this system in 2020 during the pandemic. The state defended its authority to set election procedures against the RNC, which saw an opportunity to tighten ballot counting rules nationwide.
The grace period serves voters with particular burdens, including military personnel and overseas voters. During oral arguments in March, liberal justices flagged that a ruling for the RNC could jeopardize early voting, another widespread practice used by millions across both parties.
The case, Watson v Republican National Committee, began in district court, where the RNC lost. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, prompting Mississippi to appeal to the Supreme Court, calling the appellate ruling "wrong."
Trump and Republicans have repeatedly attacked mail voting despite its decades of use. Trump himself voted by mail in March for a special House election in Florida, according to Palm Beach County election records. He has called for ending mail voting, though he lacks the power to do so, as election rules are set by states and local jurisdictions.
The RNC's legal team pushed the idea that voters could theoretically recall ballots and change their votes. Mississippi's solicitor general Scott Stewart dismissed the concern, saying no historical example of this occurring exists. Barrett's opinion seconded that skepticism.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is a rare moment of judicial restraint from a conservative majority, but don't mistake it for a broader defense of voting access, the Voting Rights Act gutting proves that."
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