With the November 3 midterms weeks away, election officials in more than a dozen states are counting on a Supreme Court decision from June that preserved a familiar rule: a mail ballot postmarked by Election Day can still be counted if it arrives within a short grace period afterward.
In Watson v. Republican National Committee, the court ruled 5-4 that federal Election Day statutes say nothing about when ballots must be received, and therefore do not override state laws like Mississippi’s, which counts absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received within five business days. The majority reasoned that casting a ballot and officials receiving it are two different events, and that federal law governs the first while states may set the second.
The ruling left intact similar grace-period laws in 14 states and comparable provisions for military and overseas voters elsewhere. Court filings in the case noted that more than 750,000 ballots nationwide were counted under such laws in the 2024 election — a figure that explains why the fight drew national attention from both parties and from the administration, which backed the challenge.
For voters, the practical guidance from officials is unchanged but worth repeating: eligibility rules differ by state, mail ballots should be sent early, and a ballot mailed late cannot be rescued by a postmark it never received. Check your state and county rules before you return your ballot.
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