{"id":2621144,"date":"2026-06-29T17:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alito-warns-late-arriving-ballot-ruling-may-undermine-election-confidence\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:37:56","slug":"alito-warns-late-arriving-ballot-ruling-may-undermine-election-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alito-warns-late-arriving-ballot-ruling-may-undermine-election-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Alito warns late-arriving ballot ruling may undermine election confidence"},"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\">18<\/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%2Falito-warns-late-arriving-ballot-ruling-may-undermine-election-confidence%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=2621144&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>Justice Samuel Alito sharply dissented from the Supreme Court\u2019s 5-4 decision to uphold a Mississippi law that permits the counting of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nevada-allowed-to-continue-counting-late-arriving-ballots-judge-rules-2\/\" title=\"Nevada allowed to continue ..., judge rules\">late-arriving mail ballots<\/a>, which are postmarked by Election Day but arrive afterward. Alito warned that this ruling could undermine public confidence in elections and the integrity of the electoral process. He argued that the decision disregards statutory text, historical practices, and legal precedent, potentially leading to questions about voter fraud and the legitimacy of ballots. Alito also raised concerns about the possibility of eliminating ballot receipt deadlines and allowing late ballots to be counted under dubious circumstances, such as ballots being recalled mid-transit or cast by a helpful third party. The dissenters, including Justices alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas, believe the majority\u2019s ruling threatens election security and the trust of the American public. Critics like election integrity advocates expressed disappointment, emphasizing that federal law mandates ballots be received by Election Day. The ruling coincided with other meaningful decisions, including those expanding presidential powers over independent agencies.the high court\u2019s current term is nearing its end with rulings pending on issues such as campaign finance, sports regulations, and birthright citizenship.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justice <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/samuel-alito\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1232\">Samuel Alito<\/a> offered a sharp dissent on Monday to the Supreme Court\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4593067\/supreme-court-upholds-law-counting-late-mail-ballots\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4593067\/supreme-court-upholds-law-counting-late-mail-ballots\/\">decision<\/a> to uphold a Mississippi law allowing late-arriving mail ballots to be counted, warning that the majority\u2019s ruling will likely hurt public confidence in elections and the system of government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/controversial-to-put-brakes-on-the-border\/\" title=\"...Controversial\u201d How to put brakes on the border?\">high court ruled 5-4<\/a> in favor of upholding the Mississippi law, finding that federal law does not preempt state laws allowing the counting of ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive days later. Alito <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-1260_g3cn.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-1260_g3cn.pdf\">penned<\/a> the dissent and highlighted how that decision could undermine upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4628504\/alito-warns-supreme-courts-late-arrival-ballot-ruling-risks-undermine-confidence-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Alito warns Supreme Court\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >late-arriving ballot ruling risks undermining confidence<\/a> in elections<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4629401\/bad-bunny-tickets-book-deal-takeaways-supreme-court-financial-disclosures\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bad Bunny tickets, $1 million book advance: Takeaways from Supreme Court financial disclosures<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4477468\/supreme-court-expands-trump-power-fire-officials-independent-agencies\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Supreme Court expands Trump\u2019s power to fire officials at independent agencies<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNot only is today\u2019s decision inconsistent with statutory text, legal context, historical practice, and precedent; it also threatens to produce lamentable consequences,\u201d Alito wrote. \u201cThe majority\u2019s holding spawns a slurry of troubling election-law questions and risks further undermining Americans\u2019 confidence in election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alito questioned if states could \u201celiminate ballot-receipt deadlines entirely\u201d because of the majority\u2019s finding that the law establishing Election Day only requires a voter\u2019s decision to be made that day, not that the ballot must be turned in by that day. He also questioned whether states could allow late ballots to be counted even if they are turned in late by a \u201chelpful neighbor\u201d or an Uber driver, or if something other than a postmark could be used to verify that the ballot was cast by Election Day. Alito\u2019s other hypothetical went into whether a ballot would still count if a voter decided to recall it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut the Postal Service allows its customers to recall mail mid-transit, as do many private parcel services,\u201d Alito wrote. \u201cGiven that fact, is a voter\u2019s \u2018selection\u2019 truly \u2018final\u2019 when he or she puts a ballot in the mailbox? The majority dodges this question, offering the passing suggestion that Mississippi\u2019s statute would be preempted only insofar as it allows voters to recall their ballots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alito also stated that the majority\u2019s decision \u201cleaves open opportunities for voter fraud that may further undermine Americans\u2019 faith in the integrity of this country\u2019s elections.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is undeniable that a prohibition on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nevada-allowed-to-continue-counting-late-arriving-ballots-judge-rules\/\" title=\"Nevada allowed to continue ... ...-arriving ...s, judge rules\">counting late-arriving ballots<\/a> would provide an additional hurdle for bad actors seeking to stuff ballot boxes when early election results suggest a tight race,\u201d Alito wrote. \u201cThe majority incorrectly removes this safeguard from federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Election integrity advocates, such as Jason Snead, executive director of\u00a0Honest\u00a0Elections\u00a0Project, were disappointed at the majority\u2019s ruling. Snead called the high court\u2019s Monday ruling a \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d decision that \u201cmisses the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFederal law is clear: all ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted,\u201d Snead said. \u201cThe Court missed a major opportunity to reinforce election integrity and instead sides with California-style chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs Justice Alito makes clear in his dissent, watching ballots trickle in after Election Day and flip races does nothing but damage public trust in our system of government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hans von Spakovsky,\u00a0a former Federal Election Commissioner and senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, called the decision a \u201cgrave disappointment,\u201d also pointing to Alito\u2019s dissent, which warned of the ruling hurting confidence in elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy allowing ballots to be received and counted after Election Day, the Court is thwarting these federal laws and allowing the very chaos and suspicions Congress intended to prevent,\u201d von Spakovsky said. \u201cAs Justice Samuel Alito says in his dissent, joined by three other justices, not only is Justice Amy Comey Barrett\u2019s opinion inconsistent with the plain text of those laws and historical practice and precedents, it \u2018risks further undermining Americans\u2019 confidence in election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4593067\/supreme-court-upholds-law-counting-late-mail-ballots\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4593067\">SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS MISSISSIPPI LAW COUNTING LATE-ARRIVING MAIL BALLOTS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in <em>Watson v. RNC<\/em> came on the penultimate day of the high court\u2019s current term, alongside rulings giving President Donald Trump broad firing ability within the executive branch \u2013 except regarding the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The high court\u2019s current term will conclude on Tuesday, when the Supreme Court issues rulings in cases on campaign finance, bans on biological men in women\u2019s sports, and the president\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/immigrant-group-suing-trump-receives-federal-funds\/\" title=\"Immigrant group suing Trump receives federal funds\">birthright citizenship executive order<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alito dissents on Mississippi mail ballot ruling, warns of election trust risks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2621145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25263594627210-4-1.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4430,9807,64335,43169,81924],"class_list":["post-2621144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alito","tag-ballots","tag-election-confidence","tag-judicial-ruling","tag-vote-integrity"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP25263594627210-4-1.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621144","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\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621144"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621148,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621144\/revisions\/2621148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2621145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}