Supreme Court Upholds State Law Allowing Ballots That Arrive After Election Day

The Supreme Court voted 5–4 on June 29 to uphold a Mississippi law that allows the state to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day in federal elections.
Mississippi law allows the counting of mail-in ballots received within a five-day grace period after Election Day. The statute was enacted in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide flexibility to voters.
Federal law sets the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in certain years as Election Day for federal offices. A presidential election takes place every four years; a congressional election occurs every two years.
The federal Election Day law focuses on when ballots must be cast, not when they must be received by election officials for counting….