Supreme Court rules states may count mail ballots received after Election Day

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld state laws that allow mail-in ballots to be counted if they are received after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by that day. The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, rejected a Republican challenge to Mississippi's five-day grace period and delivered a setback to President Donald Trump's long-running campaign against mail voting.

The ruling

Barrett, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices, wrote that federal election-day statutes do not require ballots to be received by Election Day.

“Nothing in the federal election-day statutes requires ballots to be received by Election Day.”

The majority confined itself to that narrow question, avoiding broader pronouncements on absentee voting or the division of authority between Congress and states. The four other conservative justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented.

Political reaction

Trump, who has falsely claimed mail ballots are rife with fraud since his 2020 loss, called the ruling a "tremendous loss" on Truth Social and renewed his push for the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require in-person proof of citizenship to register and sharply restrict postal voting.

“In light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning Voter's Rights, and the fact that 'people's' votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over, it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.”

The legislation remains stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster; some Republicans also object to its near-ban on mail ballots.

State-level impact

The ruling provides immediate relief to the 14 states that have grace periods for regular mail ballots, as well as 15 others with similar provisions for military and overseas voters. Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the decision ensures that

“the thousands of voters whose ballots are postmarked on time but received after Election Day still have their voices heard.”

Illinois, which allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive within 14 days, canceled a planned $300,000 ad campaign that had been prepared in case the court ruled differently. Ohio had already preemptively changed its law in anticipation of a contrary decision.

California's counting challenge

California, a frequent target of Trump's criticism for its slow vote counts, will benefit from the ruling's affirmation of its seven-day grace period. Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers agreed this week to spend an additional $40 million to speed up election results: $29 million for county staff and equipment, $10 million for a publicity campaign urging early ballot return, and $750,000 to combat misinformation. The state hopes to determine most results within five days of the November election, down from the weeks it has sometimes taken.

Broader legal landscape

Monday's decision follows a federal judge's June 25 ruling that blocked Trump's March executive order seeking to restrict mail-in ballots nationwide. The Supreme Court noted that the Constitution vests election authority primarily in state legislatures, quoting Alexander Hamilton. The twin legal defeats leave Trump's election agenda reliant on Congress, where the SAVE America Act faces long odds.