The U.S. Supreme Court has left mail-in ballot rules intact in Mississippi and several other jurisdictions, giving election officials a clearer path four months before voters choose a new Congress.
In Watson v. Republican National Committee, the court ruled 5-4 that Mississippi may count mail-in ballots if they are postmarked by Election Day and received within five days after polls close. Similar rules are used in 13 other states and the District of Columbia.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said federal law requires “the electorate’s choice to be made on election day,” and that the choice “occurs so long as election day is the deadline for individuals to vote.” She wrote that federal law does not require ballots to be received or counted on Election Day.
The ruling avoids a scramble over election procedures before the November 3 midterms, when control of Congress will be at stake. President Donald Trump has pushed for tighter limits on mail-in voting and demanded that Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would sharply restrict when ballots can be cast by mail.
That fight is not over. The U.S. Postal Service proposed a rule last month that would allow it to refuse to distribute mail-in ballots in states that do not give the federal government access to voter rolls. A federal judge put the proposal on hold last week.
The court also issued a separate 6-3 ruling striking down limits on how much political parties can coordinate spending with candidates. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority that the limits violated free speech protections.
Trump called that decision “A BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS.” Republicans enter the midterm stretch with more cash available at the national committee level, while Democrats are defending more House districts that Trump carried in 2024.
