Supreme Court rules against Trump admin in mail-in ballot case

Updated 
Devin Pavlou
The Supreme Court rejected a Republican challenge against late-arriving mail-in ballots, in a loss for Trump.
Image credit: Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge by the Republican National Committee, ruling that election officials can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day if they were postmarked beforehand. 

In a 5-4 ruling, the court held that the Mississippi law at issue in the RNC case doesn’t violate the federal mandate establishing Election Day in early November. Nearly 20 states, including Mississippi, have laws with similar ballot grace periods, according to NPR.

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The ruling is a setback for the Trump administration, which has claimed without evidence that the use of mail-in ballots can lead to widespread voter fraud. NBC News reported that hundreds of thousands of voters had used late-arriving mail-in ballots in the 2024 election. They described the number as “a small but notable proportion of the total vote count.” 

How the case made it to the Supreme Court

Republicans have fought mail-in ballot grace periods since before the 2024 presidential election. Back then, the RNC and the Trump campaign filed legal challenges claiming these grace periods were unconstitutional. They said it was Congress, not the states, that set when an election ends. 

In October 2024, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the RNC, holding that Mississippi’s law was unconstitutional. The court sent the issue back to a lower court for further consideration, and the case later reached the Supreme Court. 

Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring all votes be received by Election Day in federal elections. Federal courts later blocked that order.

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Devin Pavlou
Devin Pavlou
Devin Pavlou is a digital producer at Straight Arrow.
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Why this story matters

The Supreme Court has settled, for now, which states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, directly affecting how and when votes are tallied in more than half the country ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Mail ballots still count late

In 14 states and Washington, D.C., mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within a defined grace period — up to several days afterward, depending on the state — remain valid and will be counted under existing state laws.

Military voters protected

Roughly 29 states allow extended deadlines specifically for military and overseas voters, a practice the ruling leaves undisturbed.

Congress, not courts, decides next

The majority opinion stated that if a national ballot-receipt deadline is needed, Congress must enact it — meaning the rules voters rely on now remain in place unless federal legislation changes them.

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Community reaction

Voting rights advocates celebrated the ruling, with Public Rights Project founder Jill Habig stating there is "no legal basis for eliminating absentee ballot grace periods." Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican who defended the law in court, said she hopes the state legislature will now amend the law to require ballots be received on Election Day.

Context corner

Mississippi passed its mail-in ballot grace period law in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic on a bipartisan basis. Federal law has set Election Day as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November since Congress established that date in 1845.

Policy impact

The ruling preserves mail-in ballot grace period laws in more than a dozen states, preventing election administrators from having to overhaul rules months before the 2026 midterms. A ruling the other way would have also threatened extended deadlines for military and overseas voters in 29 states.

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Sources

  1. NPR
  2. NBC News

Bias comparison

  • Media outlets on the left cast the 5-4 ruling as a partisan rebuke, using combative terms like “slaps down,” “blocks,” and “attack” to portray Republicans and Trump as striking at voting access.
  • Not enough unique coverage from media outlets in the center to provide a bias comparison.
  • Media outlets on the right shift between election-alarm and political-spin, spotlighting “late-arriving” ballots, “rejecting” a Trump-led challenge, or even calling it a “win for Dems” or “massive win” for Republicans.

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Media landscape

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Key points from the Left

  • The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later to be counted, rejecting a challenge by the Republican National Committee and others.
  • Eighteen states and territories, including Mississippi, have similar grace periods for counting late-arriving mail ballots, including provisions for overseas and military voters to protect against postal or weather delays.
  • The decision was considered a setback for Republicans and affected challenges to such laws ahead of the 2024 midterm elections.

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Key points from the Center

  • The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states are legally permitted to accept and count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day as long as they are postmarked on time.
  • Decided by a 5–4 majority, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts to secure the ruling.
  • The decision rejected a legal challenge brought by the Republican National Committee against a Mississippi law that allows a five-day grace period for late-arriving mail.
  • Opponents of the grace periods argued unsuccessfully that an 1845 federal law required all ballots to be both cast and received by the official federal Election Day.
  • By upholding these rules, the high court ensured that existing ballot grace periods across roughly 15 states and Washington, D.C., will remain fully intact for the upcoming midterm elections.

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Key points from the Right

  • The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states may count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after it, upholding Mississippi's law allowing a five-day grace period for ballot receipt.
  • Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and three liberal justices, stating federal election-day statutes regulate when voters make their choice, not when ballots are received.
  • The Republican National Committee challenged Mississippi's law as conflicting with federal law setting Election Day as the receiving deadline, but the court rejected that argument.
  • Dissenting justices expressed concern that counting late ballots could undermine election confidence and public trust, cautioning that decisions about election deadlines should be left to Congress rather than the judiciary.

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Sources

  1. NPR
  2. NBC News