Supreme Court ruled states can count later received mailed ballots cast by Election Day
MISSISSIPPI/DC (WCBI) – The Supreme Court has ruled that states can count mailed ballots cast by Election Day but received later.
In a 5-to-4 ruling released earlier today, the justices rejected a Republican Party challenge to Mississippi’s mail-in absentee ballot law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to five business days later.
A majority of the Justices, including Trump-appointee Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, found that Mississippi’s law does not conflict with Federal law setting the date for Election Day.
More than a dozen states have similar laws.
Mississippi’s law was passed by a Republican-led Legislature, but the Republican National Committee filed suit.
President Trump has criticized mail-in ballots, and his administration backed the RNC’s challenge.
The high court’s ruling comes at a crucial time with mid-term elections just a few months away.
