The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a challenge to Mississippi’s laws surrounding late-counted mail-in ballots, a case that could affect federal elections nationwide.
The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, could set precedent for how states handle mail-in ballots in federal elections. Filed in January 2024 by the national and state GOP, it challenges Mississippi’s law allowing ballots to be received and counted up to five days after Election Day. The suit does not affect state or local elections, only federal.
In July 2024, U.S. Judge Louis Guirola ruled in favor of the state and allowed the law to stay in place. However, the state GOP appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and won. The state asked the court to rehear the case but was denied in March.
The U.S. Supreme Court, seen here in this June 29, 2024 file photo, will take up a challenge to Mississippi’s laws surrounding late-counted mail-in ballots, a case that could affect federal elections nationwide.
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Attorneys representing Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and state Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a motion in April requesting a pause of the case with the U.S. Court for the Southern District for a petition to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Throughout the suit, the state has argued it has the right, via its own laws, to regulate and manage certain aspects of federal elections, such as receiving mail-in ballots and counting them after election day. The GOP has said in several filings that the state violated federal law and only Congress can set those election parameters.
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The Supreme Court’s ruling could impact whether other states with similar laws, such as Nevada and Pennsylvania, can allow for the counting of mail-in absentee ballots after election day, according to Rob McDuff, an attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice who spoke with the Clarion Ledger in April. The Center for Justice is representing several defendants who intervened in the case.
According to Mississippi’s brief to the Supreme Court, about 30 states and the Washington D. C. accept mail-in ballots that are mailed by Election Day but arrive afterward — though the grace period differs across states.
A decision by the Supreme Court will most likely be made in June or July 2026.
Mississippi’s next federal elections will be in 2026 when all four congressmen run for reelection, as well as Cindy Hyde Smith, one of the state’s two U.S. senators.
Mail-in voting has become a political flashpoint in recent years, particularly among Republicans. President Donald Trump has long pushed to end the practice, falsely claiming it cost him the 2020 election. In August, he said he would lead a White House effort to restrict or abolish mail-in and absentee voting nationwide, though he lacks the authority to do so on his own.
Trump said in a Fox News interview Aug. 15, three days before promising to end mail-in balloting by executive order, that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him during their meeting, “Your election was rigged because you have mail in voting. … It’s impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections.”
According to a USA TODAY analysis of data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, nearly 30% of Americans who voted in the 2024 presidential election used a mail-in ballot — an increase from just under 24% in 2016. Trump was victorious in each of those elections.
Contributing: Carlie Procell, Jennifer Borresen, Erin Mansfield
Charlie Drape is the Jackson beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi mail-in ballot case goes to Supreme Court. What to know
