Supreme Court Upholds States’ Authority Over Mail Ballot Deadlines

“Today’s Watson v. Republican National Committee (RNC) decision preserves the ability of states to run elections in ways that work best for their voters,” said Issue One Policy Director Michael McNulty. “It also shuts down a tactic from President Trump’s election takeover playbook — changing the rules of elections to control who votes, how Americans vote, and which ballots are counted. The Supreme Court rightly rejected an attempt to reinterpret federal law to force sweeping last-minute changes to election systems across the country and discard legally cast ballots.”

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments that federal law establishing Election Day requires ballots to be received by that day. The ruling preserves long-standing laws in some states that allow a short grace period for mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive and still be counted.

A similar policy imposing a nationwide Election Day mail ballot receipt deadline was included in the President’s March 2025 executive order — a move federal courts later blocked.

McNulty added, “States have long been responsible for administering elections, and this decision preserves the flexibility they need to manage complex election systems and ensure voters who follow the rules have their ballots counted.”

The ruling ensures that voters in 14 states and the District of Columbia will retain mail ballot grace periods that protect against postal delays and ensure ballots postmarked by Election Day are counted. The decision also protects military and overseas voters, whose ballots often take longer to travel through international mail systems. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia provide grace periods to ensure ballots from deployed service members and Americans living abroad are counted when mailed on time.

“This decision avoids imposing significant, unfunded changes on election administrators across multiple states,” McNulty continued. “Had the Court ruled the other way, election administrators in many states would have been forced to rapidly overhaul election processes, including moving ballot receipt deadlines, redesigning procedures, and conducting large-scale voter education campaigns, all without additional funding or preparation time.”

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