High Court Rules on Mail Ballots Arriving After Election Day

The Supreme Court determined in an 5-4 ruling that states can continue counting ballots that arrive after Election Day.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the three Democrat appointees on the court.  

The case of Watson v. Republican National Committee involved Mississippi’s policy of counting ballots that arrive up to five days after Election Day. At least 17 states and territories and the District of Columbia count ballots that arrive late, with at least two allowing them to arrive up to two weeks after Election Day. The case is named for Mississippi’s Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican who oversees state elections. 

President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order on election integrity included a provision that would deny federal election funding grants to states that continue counting ballots arriving after Election Day.

The counting of late-arriving ballots by states does not break along party lines. 

Illinois and Utah count ballots arriving up to 14 days after Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as long as the ballots are postmarked by Election Day. Alaska and Maryland allow ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to 10 days after the election. 

California, the District of Columbia, New York, and Oregon count ballots arriving seven days after the election. New Jersey counts ballots arriving up to six days post-election, while West Virginia’s grace period is five days. 

Nevada and Ohio count to four days after Election Day, while Kansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia count ballots arriving up to three days after Election Day. 

Washington state law says that ballots received after the election with postmarks before Election Day are counted, but no deadline is specified for when they must be received, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in October 2024 in the case from Mississippi that federal law requires mail-in ballots to arrive by Election Day. The ruling didn’t affect the election that year.

This story is developing and may be updated.