The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday, Nov. 10, it will hear a Mississippi case testing whether states may count mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but delivered soon after. The suit, led by the Republican National Committee, targets Mississippi’s five‑business‑day grace period and could affect practices in 16 states plus several U.S. territories, according to NPR.
The justices granted review in Watson v. Republican National Committee, an appeal brought by Mississippi’s top election official after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that federal law bars counting ballots received after Election Day. The petition was filed in early June and docketed June 10, 2025, according to the Supreme Court’s docket.
At issue is Mississippi’s rule allowing mail‑in absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five business days. The RNC and other plaintiffs argue that federal statutes establishing a uniform federal Election Day—2 U.S.C. § 7 and § 1 for House and Senate races, and 3 U.S.C. § 1 for presidential electors—require ballots to be both cast and received by that day.
A Fifth Circuit panel sided with the RNC on Oct. 25, 2024, in an opinion by Judge Andrew S. Oldham. The court reversed a district judge who had upheld Mississippi’s law but did not immediately alter procedures for the 2024 election. In March 2025, the Fifth Circuit denied rehearing en banc. Judge James E. Graves Jr. dissented, writing that “federal law does not mandate that ballots be received by state officials before Election Day’s conclusion,” citing dictionary definitions, case law, and legislative history.
How many places could be affected? NPR reports that 16 states plus Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands currently count mail ballots received after Election Day if they are timely postmarked, while many more extend similar grace periods to military and overseas voters. Supporters say these windows account for postal delays, weather, and other disruptions.
The policy stakes are sizable in high‑mail‑voting states. Washington’s secretary of state has said that more than 250,000 ballots postmarked on time arrived after Election Day in the state’s 2024 general election.
Republicans have pressed to curtail such grace periods. The RNC filed multiple challenges ahead of the 2024 election, including in Nevada. In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to push states to count only ballots received by Election Day and to tie certain federal support to compliance; courts have since blocked or paused key parts of that order while litigation proceeds.
Several GOP‑led legislatures have also tightened deadlines. In Utah, lawmakers eliminated the state’s post‑Election Day grace period this year, shifting to a received‑by‑Election‑Day rule.
NPR notes this is the Court’s third voting‑related case this term, alongside a dispute over whether candidates have standing to bring certain mail‑ballot suits and a separate challenge under the Voting Rights Act.
Mississippi, defending its law, argues that its system requires ballots to be cast by Election Day and merely permits election officials to receive and count timely postmarked ballots shortly thereafter—an approach the state says is lawful and mirrors practices in a number of jurisdictions.
What comes next: A ruling expected by mid‑2026 could clarify whether states may count timely postmarked ballots that arrive after Election Day or whether federal law imposes a received‑by‑Election‑Day deadline for federal races.
