Overview
- The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on Monday, June 29, 2026, holding that federal election-day statutes do not set a deadline for when mailed ballots must be received.
- The ruling reverses the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and lets Mississippi’s law — which counts ballots postmarked by Election Day if received within five business days — remain in force.
- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices to form the majority, while Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh dissented and warned the decision could undermine public confidence.
- The opinion preserves similar postmark/receipt grace periods used in more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia and protects extended deadlines that many military and overseas voters rely on.
- The ruling rests on a gap in 19th-century federal statutes that fix Election Day but do not mention receipt deadlines, leaving open the possibility that Congress could impose a uniform national deadline or that future litigation could revisit the issue.