Rejecting a challenge brought by the RNC, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that federal law does not prevent states from counting absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive afterward, upholding Mississippi’s mail ballot law.
Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett concluded that federal law sets Election Day but does not require every valid absentee ballot to be received by that date. Chief Justice John Roberts joined Barrett and the Court’s three liberal justices in the majority. The ruling leaves Mississippi’s law in place, allowing election officials to count absentee ballots received up to five business days after Election Day, provided they were postmarked on or before Election Day.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented, warning the ruling “leaves open opportunities for voter fraud” and could weaken trust in elections. He cited a 2005 bipartisan commission led by Jimmy Carter and James Baker calling absentee voting a major potential fraud risk, and a 2008 Justice Stevens opinion noting the real risk of absentee ballot fraud.
Alito said the decision “opens Pandora’s box,” creating uncertainty over whether mailed ballots are final and how states should regulate ballot handling under election-day rules.
In a separate election case, the Court also asked the Trump administration to weigh in on whether it should hear a Republican appeal seeking to enforce Pennsylvania’s requirement that mail-in ballots include a handwritten date on the outer envelope. The appeal challenges a lower court ruling that blocked enforcement of the requirement, finding it violated constitutional protections for the right to vote.
