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Posted on 03/22/2026 6:41:39 AM PDT by DFG
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a consequential case to determine at what point states can accept and count mail-in ballots.
The case, Watson v. RNC, challenges a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be received up to five days after Election Day, as long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia also allow mail-in ballots to be received after Election Day.
Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, said the case would give an opportunity for mail-in ballot laws to be uniform across the country.
“Federal law clearly states that ballots must be received by Election Day,” Snead told The Center Square. “Despite this, states continue to allow absentee ballots to pour in days or even weeks late.”
In Illinois, mail-in ballots can be received up to 14 days after Election Day. Lawyers for the RNC argued that the federal government sets a date for federal elections and that all ballots need to be available for counting by that date.
Lisa Dixon, executive director at the Center for Election Confidence, said delayed mail-in ballot receipt deadlines became more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said a ruling in favor of the RNC would still allow states to accept late mail-in ballots for nonfederal elections.
Lawyers for Mississippi have argued that upholding a strict receipt deadline would jeopardize ballots for military and overseas voters. However, Congress’ passage of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Voting Act established requirements for states to send absentee ballots 45 days before a federal election.
“Congress has spoken in that area and created a system of law that’s arguably separate from the federal Election Day statutes themselves,” Dixon said.
In December, the U.S. Postal Service altered its postmark policy so that the date reflected is when mail first arrives at a processing facility, not when it is dropped off. Dixon said this aspect of the case could be substantial grounds for a claim of disenfranchised voters.
“There is unfortunately a real risk of disenfranchising voters who drop their ballots off close to Election Day and assume it’s going to be postmarked as normal,” Dixon said. “States haven’t really begun to grapple with that and its impact on voters yet.”
Dixon admitted the court could carve out a distinction between overseas voters and domestic mail-in ballot voters.
“To the extent that the court wants to maintain the status quo, I would also see them being reluctant to kind of disrupt the whole system of U.S. law that governs military voters and overseas voters,” Dixon said.
Regardless of possible exceptions, Snead thinks the court will likely strike down Mississippi’s late receipt deadline for mail-in ballots. He said strict mail-in ballot receipts are popular among the American public.
When asked, 78% of American voters said that requiring ballots to be received by election officials at the end of Election Day makes elections more secure, according to a new poll shared with The Center Square.
The poll was conducted by CRC Research for Honest Elections Project between March 12-17 and included 1,600 likely voters nationwide. Among those surveyed, 90% of likely Republican voters said requiring ballots to be received by election officials by the end of Election Day makes elections more secure. About 77% of Independent voters and 68% of Democrat voters agreed.
Going a step further, the poll found 59% of voters said they would not trust the results of an election that counts ballots received after polls close on Election Day. About 60% of voters said counting ballots received after polls close on Election Day makes it easier to cheat.
“What you want to see is at the end of the voting period, the polls close on Election Day, you know how many votes are cast,” Snead said. “The absolute maximum number of ballots should be set when the polls close.”
While the justices will hear arguments on Monday, they are not likely to issue a decision until June.
Snead does not anticipate the decision timeline will affect upcoming midterm elections. He urged advocacy groups to educate voters on possible mail-in ballot changes, based on the court's decision.
“Federal law is clear: all ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted," Snead said. "The Supreme Court has a prime opportunity to keep it easy to vote and make it harder to cheat by upholding the rule of law and ensuring that ‘Election Day’ means Election Day.”
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John Roberts has already written his opinion and it declares mail-in voting is a tax so it’s ok to continue and expand it.
Can’t we stop paying Feral judges?
Mail-in ballots isn’t voting it’s rigging period.
My prediction is already written down and stored in a mayo jar on Funk & Wagnalls porch.
We need to start gathering signatures to pass voters ID, ban mail-in ballots, and institute the line item veto. If I wasn’t so damn old, I’d start it. As it is, I will never live long enough to see it pass.
This is exactly how Democrats cheat in the state of California - mail-in/absentee ballots are counted up to 14 days after the election - no postmark necessary!
Obviously, Dems wait until the “results are in” so they can print up enough phony ballots, drop them off and flip the election - even after the Republican was declared the winner.
Gavin Newsom will be happy to take this policy nation-wide if he becomes POTUS.
We already know how they will rule. 6 to 3 in favor of mail-ins.
How about none,no states should use mail in ballots !
If your to stupid to mail in your ballot so it arrives on time your to stupid to vote.
Does the Supreme Court’s decision really mean anything when the blue states are going to run their voting however they want to? They are sanctuary states immune from the nation’s laws don’t you know.
I ran into this little oddity when I tried to bring an action when my utility bills were delayed by months. The electric utility shut off my service for non-payment because of the delay that affected three bills in a row. The postmaster was quite adamant that there was "nothing wrong." That is why I testified at my state's Public Utility Commission about the issue.
I now use a calendar with monthly entries, and the payee's web sites to keep up with my bills. Haven't had a discontinuation of utility service, nor a late payment fee, nor legal service for non-payment, since instituting that policy. When I received a $100 invoice from a medical vendor that only offered a postal based payment system, I called and found I could submit payment over the phone.
Then there has been the stories about undelivered mail being discarded out in the weeds.
Couple that with the "improvements" the USPS has made in First Class mail delivery: postmarks at central sorting facilities instead of at point of first handling, routing for lower cost instead of speed, consolidation of sorting centers, and other cost-cutting measures that delay mail. That means mail-in ballots can be delayed without consequence.
We need change.
Yes. Vote on Election Day. In person. Exceptions should be limited and only for justifiable reason.
Any precinct that can’t count their ballots within 24 hours of poll closing should immediately be subject to federal investigation with the possibility of criminal charges.
You say that now, but if it’s not hermetically sealed, your prediction won’t count.
What’s missing in all this blah, blah, blah is PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. They are trying to g to find ways for lazy voters to not plan ahead. It’s quite simple. If you want to vote by mail, get your ballot early and send it in ten days before Election Day.
The whole argument is redolent of the one that says minorities are too stupid to get a government ID.
Liberals are constantly saying people are too lazy or too stupid or both to act responsibly. Voting is a privilege. Honor and respect that privilege.
Too many rules, to solve for too many what if scenarios. It should be:
1) If voting is important to you, you need to make sure your vote is cast in person, or received by Election Day. You have a YEAR to plan for this.
2) If something unexpected happens that prevents you from voting, then it looks like you will not be voting that year.
3) Anyone pa Anyone involved with fraudulently casting, purposely miscounting, paying, compensating or coercing someone in any form for their vote is a felony. Punishment should be jail time.
How hard would it be to obtain a collection of “forged” postmark stampers for various PO’s, with adjustable cancellation dates? Answer: Not hard at all. Dems could create and “postmark” as many fake ballot envelopes as desired to “win” an election. Little effort is spent verifying voter signatures, much less postmarks.
Meanwhile legitimate mail-in ballots are at the mercy of USPS employees, who tend to be unionized Democrats. Can we be assured that NONE of them would delay or lose ballots either on purpose or through incompetence? Uh...no.
Allowing time after election day to receive ballots invites cheaters to backfill with a quantity of fraudulent ballots they know will achieve victory. Modern elections management software provides the names of those not checked in as having voted, thus giving cheaters the names, addresses, and even sample signatures for the fake ballot envelopes.
Conclusion: Mail-in voting is neither secure nor reliable; it facilitates fraud and should be banned.
Let me throw THIS out. What happens if the Supremes declare that mail-in voting can only happen in a very small specific situation?
Do the states come out and proclaim that they don’t have time to institute those changes before the midterms? Do they just ignore them altogether?
What do you guys think?
A date on an envelope is just ink. In by 11:59pm on Election Day is ABSOLUTE.
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