The Supreme Court will hear a case on mail ballot deadlines : NPR

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could impact the counting of mail-in ballots postmarked after Election Day. This case could potentially change the rules in about 20 states and territories that currently allow such ballots to be counted.

Mississippi is one of the states involved in this case, as its top election official requested the court to consider a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee challenging the state’s five-day mail ballot grace period.

While an appeals court ruled in favor of the RNC, the decision did not have an immediate effect during last year’s presidential election.

Sixteen states along with Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. currently accept and count mail-in ballots received after Election Day if they are postmarked on or before the election day. Some states have similar grace periods specifically for military and overseas voters.

States provide these grace periods to accommodate voters in case of unforeseen circumstances like postal service delays, bad weather, or other issues that may prevent them from returning their ballots on time.

The GOP’s argument is based on the belief that only Congress should have the authority to determine the end of elections and that a uniform Election Day was established by Congress.

Before the 2024 election, the RNC challenged various state grace period laws, including in swing states like Nevada. Since then, Republican-led states such as Utah have eliminated their mail ballot grace periods, and former President Trump has attempted to end them nationwide through executive order.

During the last election, hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots were counted after Election Day. In Washington state alone, officials reported that over 250,000 ballots postmarked on time arrived after the election.

Legal experts like Joyce Vance have pointed out that the GOP’s efforts could lead to a future where only ballots cast and counted on Election Day are valid. This approach may not align with the current voting practices that include early voting and mail-in ballots to accommodate diverse voter needs.

“It doesn’t reflect the modern reality where we have early voting days and have mail-in voting days precisely to accommodate the fact that not everybody can get away during normal business hours on a Tuesday to vote,” she said.

The case in Mississippi is one of three voting-related cases taken up by the Supreme Court this term, along with a case on mail-in ballots and a challenge to the Voting Rights Act.