The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in a case over whether states may count mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day.
The court heard arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee, a case from Mississippi that could also affect voters in 13 other states and the District of Columbia, which have varying grace periods for mail ballots.
According to Just the News, the Mississippi law, which was enacted in 2020 during COVID-19, allows for mail-in ballots to be counted up to five business days after an election, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared to be skeptical of state laws that allow a grace period for for mail-in ballots that arrive at election offices after Election Day, citing concerns about fraudulent ballots, as well as state laws that may run afoul of Congressional statutes establishing Election Day as a holiday for federal offices.
Justice Samuel Alito was particularly doubtful about state laws creating a grace period and pointed to “Independence Day, [Washington’s] Birthday and Election Day” all being specific days rather than a longer period of time.
🚨 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