On June 29, 2026, in a 5-4 decision the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by and received within five days of Election Day.
Conservative Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett sided with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson in in the ruling.
Read the full 48-page Court ruling here.
Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said:
According to plaintiffs, the election-day statutes use the word "election" to refer to two acts—ballot casting and ballot receipt—so by setting the day for the "election," these statutes set the deadline for both.
The federal election-day statutes do not preempt Mississippi's law because the defining element of an "election" has always been the electorate's choice of candidate.
The electorate's choice is made when voting is complete, not when ballots are received.
In sum, the election-day statutes require the electorate's choice to be made on election day. That occurs so long as election day is the deadline for individuals to vote—as it is in Mississippi. But the election-day statutes do not set a
deadline for ballot receipt, so they do not prevent Mississippi from counting ballots postmarked before election day yet received afterward.
In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said:
In sum, from this Nation's founding until the last few decades of the 20th century—a period that spans the enactment of all three election-day statutes—having an "election" on a particular day meant completing ballot collection on that day.
Source:
Howe, Amy. (June 29, 2026). "Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots". SCOTUS Blog. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
(June 29, 2026). "WATSON, MISSISSIPPI SECRETARY OF STATE v.REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE ET AL.". supremecourt.gov. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
Donald Trump responded on Truth Social:
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, which is,
1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PHOTO I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.
3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY DEPLOYMENT, OR TRAVEL!).
There is no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against the above three requirements. There is only one reason to oppose — CHEATING! The House of Representatives has approved this vital Act, THREE TIMES. The United States Senate seems unable to do so. In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. There can be no more excuses! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
Watch and listen to Marc Elias' response to the ruling here.
Commentary:
To not count ballots that are cast by election day but received afterwards would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters whose ballots, due to slow mail delivery, don't arrive by election day.
Justice Barrett nailed it when she said that the Mississippi law in question doesn't state that ballots must be received by elections day, but only states that the "electorate's choice" be made by election day.
Justice Alito's dissent shows just how out of touch with the present he is. He's not seriously considering the reality of voting by mail.
Based on his opinion in this case, and a multitude of others, I say that Alito is another one of those wacked out Republicans who, like Trump, get all bent out of shape when their preferred candidate is ahead early on in the vote count on election night, but ends up losing as late-arriving mail-in ballots are received and counted.
These wacked out Republicans, like Trump, automatically assume and claim that this is evidence of fraud, which is complete and total B.S.
This decision is a HUGE win for democracy and free and fair elections.
Regarding Trump's post on Truth Social, once again, as always, Trump continues to spew B.S. about fraud and cheating in elections.
His post also confirms that the "latest and greatest" talking point and bogus narrative being spewed by the Right is the threat of socialism and a "Communist Movement" (according to Trump) in play by Democrats. One thing you can ALWAYS count on with Trump, MAGA, and Republicans is a never-ending stream of B.S. narratives in an attempt to sway public opinion. If there wasn't so much at stake, these ridiculous narratives would be laughable.