Overview
- The justices will consider whether federal Election Day statutes bar counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day.
- The case stems from Mississippi’s rule allowing absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five business days, which a trial judge upheld and the Fifth Circuit struck down.
- Challenges brought by the RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and voters were consolidated with a suit initiated by Judicial Watch on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi.
- Mississippi warns the Fifth Circuit’s approach would upend laws in roughly 30 states and Washington, D.C., while a Brennan Center brief argues grace periods protect military and overseas voters.
- Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement will argue for Judicial Watch at Monday’s hearing as the Court weighs rules that could influence 2026 election administration.