Supreme Court looks poised to limit mail-in ballots, a possible win for Trump and America!

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court could back a Republican effort to stop states from counting late-arriving mail-in ballots, a decision that would be a win for President Donald Trump and would lead to stricter voting rules around the country.

During more than two hours of oral arguments on March 23, the court’s conservative majority sounded skeptical of a Mississippi law allowing ballots cast by Election Day to be counted if they’re received within five days.

Justice Samuel Alito said not having a firm deadline raises many other questions, including how long a grace period can be and whether ballots have to be postmarked.

"You have a variety of line-drawing problems," he told Mississippi's attorney.

But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the court’s three liberal justices, said it’s up to Congress and the states – not the court – to make such decisions. And the fact that Congress is considering legislation to end grace periods shows lawmakers think they’re currently allowed.

"I think we have several federal statutes that suggest that Congress was aware of post-Election Day ballot deadlines that the states had enacted," she said.

🚨 HOLY CRAP! As many as 29 STATES may have their laws overturned after the Supreme Court indicated they will rule against allowing mail-in ballots to come in after Election Day

This would be huge, and could be a 6-3 ruling 🔥

JUSTICE ALITO: "Independence DAY, birthDAY, and… pic.twitter.com/KqVOT3cbu1

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 23, 2026

Voting by mail has decreased since its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. But nearly 30% of voters still cast a ballot that way in the 2024 elections. And nearly 30 states allow at least some late-arriving ballots to be counted.

Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote by mail.

Supporters of mail-in voting say it makes it easier for people – including retirees, service members and rural residents – to cast a ballot. And grace periods prevent people from losing their vote over postal service delays.

But Trump has long railed against mail-in voting as vulnerable to fraud, claiming it cost him the 2020 election.

Trump has separately tried to end both grace periods and mail-in voting altogether through both an executive order and by pressuring Congress to pass legislation.

The Justice Department is backing the Republican Party’s challenge to a Mississippi’s law.

Documented instances of fraud related to voting by mail are rare, according to the Election Data & Science Lab from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

But when ballots counted after Election Day affect the outcome of a race, that can raise doubts about their legitimacy even when there is no fraud, critics argue.

"If the election is going to turn on late-arriving ballots in a way that means what everybody kind of thought was the result on Election Day ends up being the opposite a week later, 21 days later, the losers are not going to accept that result," Paul Clement, the attorney for the Republican Party, told the Supreme Court. "And that is bad for our system."

🚨 BREAKING: SCOTUS Justice Sam Alito just DROPPED THE MIC on liberals who want us to receive endless mail-in ballots after election *day*

"We have LOTS of phrases that involve two words, the last of which, the second of which is DAY. Labor DAY, Memorial DAY, George Washington's… pic.twitter.com/rA7gKMPafz

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 23, 2026

The legal argument the Republican National Committee and the Justice Department is making turns on the definition of when an election has occurred, because federal law sets a specific date for U.S. elections.

The Republican Party and the Trump administration counter that an election is the day by which ballots must be received.

Mississippi says the "election" is when voters chose a candidate.

 "States must make a final choice of officers by election day," said Mississippi solicitor general Scott Stewart. "That is the plain meaning of an election."

But some of the conservative justices asked how a voter’s mailed ballot could be considered final when some states allow voters to recall their absentee ballots.

And Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized that grace periods became popular only in recent years, suggesting that there’s more historical support for a specific deadline.

He asked whether states with grace periods would have time to adjust before the midterm elections if the court sides with the GOP.

Clement said a decision from the court by June would allow plenty of time.

The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, is not the only litigation that could affect future elections.

The justices are also deciding whether to overturn restrictions on coordinated spending between parties and candidates and whether to curtail protections against racial discrimination in voting.
 

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