{"id":2509075,"date":"2025-11-11T07:56:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T12:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-if-states-can-count-mail-ballots-after-election\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T07:57:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T12:57:07","slug":"scotus-to-decide-if-states-can-count-mail-ballots-after-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-if-states-can-count-mail-ballots-after-election\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS To Decide If States Can Count Mail Ballots After Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscotus-to-decide-if-states-can-count-mail-ballots-after-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2509075&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide on a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >significant election security issue involving mail-<\/a>in ballots: whether ballots should only be counted if received by Election Day, or if ballots arriving in the days following the election should also be counted. The case, *Watson v. Republican National Committee (RNC)*, challenges a Mississippi law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to five business days after. Similar laws exist in around 30 states. <\/p>\n<p>the RNC argues that Congress established a uniform Election Day and that extending the counting period undermines this deadline, potentially favoring Democrats, as late-arriving mail-in ballots tend to lean Democratic.The increased use of mail-in ballots gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic due to social distancing, changing election dynamics by stretching Election Day into an extended period of ballot counting. <\/p>\n<p>The RNC contends that post-election receipt of ballots can cause confusion and suspicion about election integrity. With the 2026 midterm elections approaching,the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision,expected by mid-2025,will clarify the legal boundaries for counting mail-in ballots after Election Day.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/case-files\/watson-v-republican-national-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreed<\/a> to issue a decision on a major election security issue related to mail-in ballots: should ballots be counted only until Election Day, or should ballots that trickle in days after an election be counted too? We know Election Day, set by Congress, is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.&nbsp;But is that only the deadline for voting, with counting happening days later? &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The case, <em>Watson v. Republican National Committee (RNC)<\/em>, centers on a Mississippi complaint about a law allowing ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted up to five business days after the election. It means ballots from a Tuesday election could arrive the following Tuesday and still be counted, as long as the post mark meets the criteria. The Libertarian Party of Mississippi filed a similar case. There are similar laws in some 30 states.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist&rsquo;s Elections Correspondent Brianna Lyman <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/26\/this-case-could-make-elections-actually-end-on-election-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> last year, &ldquo;The RNC suit argues that Congress &lsquo;established a uniform, national day to elect members of Congress and to appoint presidential electors&rsquo; but that &lsquo;Mississippi contravenes those federal laws by counting mail-in ballots that are received up to five business days after Election Day.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The RNC said Mississippi essentially extends Election Day and mail &ldquo;ballots that are counted for five <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-case-could-make-elections-actually-end-on-election-day\/\" title=\"This ... Could Make ...s Actually End On ...\">additional days disproportionately break<\/a> for Democrats.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Like masks on preschoolers, mail-in ballots became prevalent during the Covid pandemic. Before Covid, most states held voting on Election Day, and the results were tallied after the polls closed.<\/p>\n<p>During that time, Democrats were pushing for &ldquo;no-excuse voting.&rdquo; Those who were sick, out of town, or in the military had an excuse to request an absentee ballot, and the majority of people voted in person. Democrats promoted the no-excuse method before Covid, and tried to open mail-in voting for all.<\/p>\n<p>The Covid era brought social distancing and the perfect excuse to usher in mail-in ballots for all. That is when drop boxes came on the scene, and the dates of a ballot&rsquo;s post-mark and arrival at the county board of election became a debate. Election Day became Election Season, with parties tracking how many mail ballots their party members returned and adjusting their ground game accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;&ldquo;Many States have recently adopted post-election receipt of mail-in ballots,&rdquo; the RNC wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/24\/24-1260\/369359\/20250811123444959_Watson%20v.%20RNC%20-%20Cert%20Petition%20BIO%20FINAL.pdf\">brief<\/a> for the case. &ldquo;These States risk &lsquo;the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The RNC argues that accepting ballots days after the election &ldquo;deprive[s] the electorate of a clear nationwide deadline.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With the 2026 midterm elections looming, election watchers are eager for a final answer on this question, but they will have to wait. &nbsp;Arguments are expected next year with a decision by late June or early July according to the SCOTUS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2025\/11\/justices-agree-to-decide-major-election-law-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lara-logan-challenges-media-to-ask-certain-questions-about-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Lara Logan Challenges Media To Ask Certain Questions About Afghanistan\">award-winning investigative journalist<\/a> with decades of media experience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court to rule on counting mail-in ballots post-Election Day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2509076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SC-Top.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33739,37707,6994,34629,32570],"class_list":["post-2509075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-law","tag-mail-ballots","tag-scotus","tag-state-regulations","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SC-Top.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2509075"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2509079,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509075\/revisions\/2509079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2509076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2509075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2509075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2509075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}