Supreme Court takes "scary" voting case that could force 29 states to change ballot receipt laws

The Supreme Court agreed on Nov. 10, 2025, to hear Watson v. Republican National Committee, case number 24-1260, which asks whether the federal statutes establishing Election Day require states to count only mail ballots received by that date — not merely postmarked on or before it.

Mississippi's law allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive at election offices up to five business days later. Secretary of State Michael Watson, the respondent, argued that marking and submitting a ballot constitutes "casting" it — making the postmark the relevant deadline, not receipt.

On Oct. 25, 2024, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit — all appointed by President Trump — ruled against Mississippi, holding that an election is "only complete when all ballots are received." The ruling found that Mississippi's grace period violates federal Election Day statutes, setting up the Supreme Court appeal.

If the Supreme Court affirms the Fifth Circuit, up to 29 states plus D.C. with laws accepting some ballots after Election Day would face legal pressure to rewrite their election codes before the 2026 midterms. Fourteen states and D.C. have formal grace periods for domestic voters; additional states accept overseas and military ballots after Election Day under federal law.

Election law scholar Richard Hasen called Watson v. RNC a "scary" case for voting rights advocates, warning that even a narrow ruling requiring Election Day receipt could invalidate ballots from voters who mailed them on time but were delayed by U.S. Postal Service processing — a problem that disproportionately affects rural communities with slower mail delivery.

The ACLU, representing Mississippi voters, argued in its brief that the RNC's position would "disenfranchise thousands upon thousands of voters" by penalizing them for postal delays they can't control. The ACLU's case page noted that the ruling's reach extends to military and overseas voters who routinely mail ballots weeks before Election Day.

The Court scheduled oral arguments for March 2026, meaning a final decision would arrive before the November 2026 midterm elections — giving states little time to reprogram election systems, retrain workers, and update voter education campaigns if they must stop counting late-arriving ballots.

The constitutional tension in Watson v. RNC pits Congress's power to set federal Election Day under Article I, Section 4 against the states' traditional authority over election administration procedures. Federal law has set a uniform Election Day since 1845, but states have historically retained discretion over how they count and receive ballots submitted on that day.