On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold a Mississippi law allowing absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received within five business days after the election.
The case challenged Mississippi House Bill 1521, which permits election officials to count timely mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day. Mississippi is one of 14 states with a similar policy for mail-in ballots.
This grace period was especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to benefit military service members, military family, and US citizens living overseas, ensuring their ballots are received and counted.
In January of 2024, the RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and other plaintiffs, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law in federal court. The plaintiffs argued that federal elections should have a uniform national Election Day, with all ballots received by that date.
The case highlights a rise in disenfranchisement in the US, where states are failing to address voters’ needs. Taking into account unreliable mail services, working families unable to go to the polls, and people living overseas, voter protection is essential to ensure a healthy democracy.
Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, criticized an earlier lower court ruling, stating that it “upends this longstanding federalist arrangement, threatening to silence eligible voters whose ballots arrive late through no fault of their own.”
By upholding Mississippi’s law, the Supreme Court preserved the state’s ability to count ballots that are mailed by Election Day but received shortly afterward. The ruling also allows other states with similar ballot receipt deadlines to continue administering their elections under existing law.
Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett emphasized that while election fraud is a serious concern, changes to national election procedures should come through Congress rather than the courts. “If varied deadlines for ballot receipt similarly call for a national solution,” she wrote, “the American people must choose it through their elected representatives.”
The decision preserves voting access for thousands of Americans who rely on absentee voting each election cycle. Voters with disabilities, rural communities, working families, and countless citizens overseas can continue to participate in a democratic process. This ruling serves as a reminder of the power of both your voice and vote in every election.
