Supreme Court To Hear Major Case on Mail-In Ballot Deadlines
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a pivotal case that could reshape how mail-in ballots are counted nationwide, with major implications for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond.
At the heart of the case is a challenge to Mississippi’s policy of accepting mail-in ballots for up to five days after Election Day, so long as they are postmarked on or before that day. Seventeen states currently have similar laws on the books. But the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Mississippi GOP argue that such post-election grace periods violate federal law, which sets a single, uniform “Election Day” for all federal contests.
In a statement to the court, the RNC argued that this practice unlawfully extends the election timeline and threatens the integrity of results. “A post-election receipt deadline for mail ballots thus extends ‘the election’ beyond the ‘day’ set by Congress,” the RNC brief stated. “In no sense is the ‘election’ over when ballots are still coming in.”
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the RNC earlier this year, ruling that Mississippi’s law was preempted by federal statutes requiring ballots to be received — not just postmarked — by the close of Election Day. Now, the Supreme Court will weigh in, with justices set to determine “whether the federal election-day statutes preempt a state law that allows ballots that are cast by federal election day to be received by election officials after that day.”
If the high court upholds the 5th Circuit’s ruling, it could nullify similar ballot-counting extensions in states like California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, where election officials routinely accept ballots days after polls close. Republicans have long argued that these policies open the door to confusion, manipulation, and a loss of public trust.
“Many States can’t conclude their elections for weeks after election day because they’re still receiving ballots from voters,” the RNC said. “Weeks after the ‘day for the election’ has come and gone, the elections in those States continue.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for an end to mail-in voting, blasting it as a “fraud factory” and vowing to restore in-person Election Day voting as the norm. In an executive order issued earlier this year, Trump directed the Department of Justice to crack down on states that accept ballots after Election Day for federal contests — including elections for President, U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives.
Trump’s administration is expected to file a brief backing the RNC’s case, reinforcing the view that uniform Election Day standards are essential to election security and national confidence in the process.
The court’s decision could come down by early next year — just in time to affect how ballots are processed in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms.