Supreme Court to Review Mississippi Mail-in Ballot Case That Could Impact Voting Nationwide

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether Mississippi can count mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day. The case, backed by Trump's administration, could affect similar voting laws in about 30 states across the country.

The nation’s highest court is preparing to examine a Mississippi voting law on Monday that has sparked a legal battle over mail-in ballot deadlines, with potential implications for election procedures across the United States.

The case centers on Mississippi’s policy that allows certain absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days after a federal election, provided they were postmarked by Election Day. The law restricts mail-in voting to specific groups including senior citizens, disabled individuals, and those residing away from their home addresses.

President Donald Trump’s administration is supporting the legal challenge against this Mississippi statute. Trump previously pledged to eliminate mail-in voting nationwide ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a change that would likely favor Republicans since Democratic voters historically utilize mail-in ballots at higher rates.

The Republican Party has expressed concerns about mail-in voting security, with Trump repeatedly questioning the integrity of such ballots despite limited evidence of voter fraud. The former president continues to make unsubstantiated allegations about widespread fraud in the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden.

Approximately 30 states plus Washington D.C. currently allow ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted even when they arrive after the official voting date.

The Republican National Committee, Mississippi’s state GOP, and additional plaintiffs initiated legal action in 2024 to overturn the law, which was originally enacted in 2020 by the Republican-led Mississippi legislature with bipartisan support during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Republican challengers in 2024, determining that federal election laws establish Election Day as the deadline when ballots must be “both cast by voters and received by state officials.”

The appeals court stated that federal law “does not permit the state of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days or 100 days.”

While the 5th Circuit didn’t immediately halt Mississippi’s current procedures, it returned the matter to a lower court for additional review. The case remains paused while awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.

Although the appellate ruling directly affects only Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas within the 5th Circuit’s jurisdiction, it raises questions about similar mail-in ballot policies in other states.

In its Supreme Court appeal, Mississippi argued that the lower court’s decision would “override countless state laws from the past 165 years and largely require citizens to vote in person, on Election Day, in their home districts, without the secret-ballot system.”