Supreme Court Upholds Mail Ballot Grace Periods, Rejecting Republican Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court handed a significant victory to voting rights advocates on Monday, ruling that states may legally count mail ballots received after Election Day — provided they were postmarked on time — dealing a defeat to the Republican National Committee’s effort to eliminate the practice nationwide.

The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett — a Trump appointee — determined that federal election statutes do not require ballots to be received by Election Day. The ruling delivered immediate relief to the 14 states that maintain grace periods for regular mail ballots, averting what officials feared would be a chaotic scramble to overhaul voting procedures just months before the November midterm elections.

“Nothing in the federal election-day statutes requires ballots to be received by Election Day,” Barrett wrote, emphasizing that the majority addressed only that narrow legal question and did not issue broader declarations on absentee voting or the balance of power between Congress and the states on election law.

The case centered on a Mississippi law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to five days after the election. The RNC and the Libertarian Party had challenged the law, arguing it violated federal statute. The Supreme Court sided with Mississippi.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs welcomed the outcome, saying the ruling ensures that “the thousands of voters whose ballots are postmarked on time but received after Election Day still have their voices heard.”

In Illinois, where mail-in ballots accounted for roughly a quarter of the primary vote this year, election officials had set aside $300,000 for a public awareness campaign to notify voters of potential changes to mail ballot deadlines. Spokesman Matt Dietrich confirmed those efforts would be suspended following Monday’s decision. Illinois permits mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 14 days to be counted.

California, which operates a seven-day grace period, has long been a target of criticism from President Donald Trump and Republican allies, who have pointed to the state’s extended ballot-counting timeline to raise unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the ruling “a win for voters, for the rule of law, and for the future of our democracy.”

Beyond California, Illinois and Mississippi, the states that count mail ballots received after Election Day include Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. An additional 15 states maintain grace periods specifically for military and overseas voters. At least one state, Ohio, had already amended its law in anticipation of a ruling against the practice.

Mail ballots have been a persistent political flashpoint since the 2020 presidential election, when Trump — without evidence — blamed them for his defeat. Despite the RNC’s involvement in Monday’s case, Trump seized on the ruling to renew calls for Congress to pass what he calls the Save America Act, sweeping federal legislation that would require voters to present proof of citizenship to register and restrict access to mail voting. The bill has stalled in Congress despite Republican majorities in both chambers.

“More important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the ruling. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters echoed that message, calling the decision justification for advancing the proposal.

The 5-4 margin drew concern from some Democratic officials. Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said he was relieved by the outcome but alarmed by how close the vote was. “What’s troubling was that so many of the other justices were willing to sacrifice the rights of voters,” Galvin said.

The ruling carried particular significance in Alaska, where Indigenous and rural communities scattered across remote terrain depend on grace periods to ensure their votes are counted. In many villages, air transport is the only means of moving ballots to counting centers.

Jacqueline De León, a senior attorney with the Native American Rights Fund who filed a brief on behalf of Alaska Native and Native American groups, said geographic and logistical barriers make grace periods essential. “Ballots cast by election deadlines should not be discarded simply because substandard service or weather delays cause them to arrive after Election Day,” she said.