The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots — an election issue targeted by President Donald Trump.
The downtown area of Alaska's capital, Juneau, a city accessible only by air or water and where ballots from elections are sent for tabulations and certification, is seen across Gastineau Channel from Douglas Island, Alaska, March 19, 2026.
FILE - Employees sort vote-by-mail ballots from municipal elections on Election Day at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office, Nov. 4, 2025, in Doral, Fla. A sign hangs outside the director's office of the Alaska Division of Elections, Thursday, March 19. 2026, in Juneau, Alaska. count late-arriving mail ballotsAll 50 states require ballots to be cast or postmarked on or before Election Day, but 14 states have grace periods for receiving and counting regular mailed ballots, ranging from a day to several weeks after the election.A final ruling will almost certainly come by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked whether the court’s legal principle that decisions shouldn’t disrupt upcoming elections would stay their hands if the justices forbade states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day. Such a ruling would probably come down in June and require several states to overhaul their election procedures before the November election. “June would give them plenty of time,” Clement said.Most of the conservative justices seem dubious about state laws in Mississippi and elsewhere that allow the counting of late-arriving mail ballots. Arguments are still ongoing, but the questions so far from the high court’s supermajority point to a ruling against those state laws, a persistent target of President Donald Trump. The eventual decision could affect voters in 13 other states and the District of Columbia, which have grace periods. An additional 15 states that have more forgiving deadlines for ballots from military and overseas voters also could be impacted.Paul Clement, representing the Republican and Libertarian parties, began his argument by saying that post-Election Day deadlines are wrong as a matter of “text, precedent, history and common sense.” He had a partisan spat with Justice Sonia Sotomayor over the Republican party’s contention that late-arriving military and overseas ballots also should not be counted if they arrive after Election Day. Sotomayor cracked that “we should have another president” because in the 2000 Florida election, late-arriving military ballots were tallied, helping lead to Republican George W. Bush’s presidency.Clement argued that historical laws for absentee military ballots still required them to be received by Election Day. He later added that the plaintiffs would have “no objection” to the Trump administration’s argument that would exempt military ballots.Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared concerned about the possibility that state late-ballot laws could allow people to recall ballots sent in by mail. Mississippi doesn’t allow that, but Barrett asks a series of questions about whether that could happen in other states. She seems to say that if recalling a vote is a possibility, a mail-in ballot may not truly be the voter’s final decision. That would cut against the state’s defense of its law. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, meanwhile, chimed in to say that those questions appear to be policy decisions and suggests that Congress has allowed states to make those decisions.The arguments have opened with conservative justices asking questions about who a state can authorize to accept ballots. The subtext here is the practice that conservatives have targeted known as “ballot harvesting.” In some states, non-governmental officials like families or even neighbors or nursing home administrators, can collect sealed ballots from voters. Conservatives are pushing back on Mississippi’s argument that the 1845 law passed by Congress setting a date for Election Day doesn’t open the door to further regulations of state elections.The case wound through conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Republicans looking to interest the justices in taking up the issue could have sued in New York, Illinois or Washington, among other states with relaxed deadlines for receiving mailed ballots. But they chose heavily Republican Mississippi to put the case in front of the 5th circuit, where a panel of three Trump appointees struck down the state law. The Supreme Court is much more likely to intervene when a lower court has struck down a state law, reasoning that the nation’s highest court should have the final word on such things.Solicitor General D. John Sauer, in his eighth Supreme Court argument, is urging the court to rule out late-arriving ballots, except for voters in the military and overseas. Sauer’s biggest win to date was the presidential immunity decision that spared Trump from being tried for his effort to overturn the 2020 election. Paul Clement, who held Sauer’s job under George W. Bush, is arguing his eighth case this term among more than 125 arguments since 2001. Both men were Supreme Court law clerks to Justice Antonin Scalia early in their legal careers. Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart is defending the state law in his second Supreme Court argument. In his first appearance, Stewart persuaded the court to overturn the constitutional right to abortion in the landmark Dobbs case in 2022. Stewart was a law clerk for Thomas.Three of the four states where mail-in voting gained in popularity in the 2024 presidential election voted forA U.S. Election Assistance Commission study of data collected at the local level and submitted by states showed that voters from Indiana, South Dakota and Utah saw higher percentages of mail voting during Trump’s successful 2024 than 2020. Washington was the fourth state in the group. Overall mail in balloting was more popular in 2024 than in pre-pandemic years with roughly 30% of voters using that method to vote while mail ballots typically accounted for about 25% of votes cast in pre-pandemic years. The 2020 election saw 43% of votes come through the mail.Jesse Salinas, president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, says his organization’s members are concerned that a potential ban on mail ballot grace periods could mean ballots of all kinds would be required to be counted by 11:59 p.m. on Election Day. Large numbers of young voters use California’s same-day registration system to cast ballots that are typically counted after other tallies are completed. “So all of those folks who will want to register and vote on Election Day, we just simply won’t have the ability to process all those” ballots before midnight, he said.Alaska, more than twice the size of Texas, is dotted with small communities in far-flung places, many of them accessible only by air or water. Some political leaders and Native voting rights activists say the state’s 10-day grace period for absentee mail ballots is essential given the state’s unique geography and the limited postal service in rural areas. In the 2022 general election, about 20% of all absentee ballots statewide were received after Election Day. The percentage was much higher for ballots from some of the state’s most rural communities. The state’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, says “there’s probably no other state where this ruling could have a more detrimental impact than ours.” Alaska Native voting rights advocates and the state’s attorney general and solicitor general filed briefs with the Supreme Court to explain the importance of the state’s ballot grace period and the rationale behind it. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Spurs respond after viral video at game sparks backlashIs the 'smokable' hemp market about to be set ablaze?Reuniting items found along the Guadalupe River after the deadly floodsWeek one of Christopher Preciado trial wraps upSA airport reports short TSA wait▶Shuttle driver rescues toddler from a busy roadDay 3: Erica Hernandez recaps evidence shownSan Antonio César Chávez march organizers, foundation disbands amid sexual abuse allegationsSAPD says 12-year-old killed in a street racing crash2026 César E. Chávez March for Justice cancelled▶Possible relief for a northeast side dangerous intersection.CORPUS CHRISTI TURNING TO SAN ANTONIO FOR ANSWERS TO ITS WATER CRISISBlind man says security pushed him down stairs, beat him in parking lot of North Side barDesfile Flambeau Iluminara la noche durante FiestaAdam Caskey has your cold Weather Authority update.Checking your roof for wind damage.mp4Jury selection began on Monday in the case of Christopher PreciadoSecurity camera footage captures sound of when gunfire begins
Donald Trump Washington News Antonin Scalia U.S. News Jesse Salinas Lisa Murkowski Politics Scott Stewart Paul Clement George W. Bush
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Supreme Court to consider deadlines for late-arriving mail ballots, as Trump continues attacksThe Supreme Court will consider whether states can count mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive after.
Read more »
Mail ballot case before Supreme Court could upend voting in AlaskaVoting rights advocates in Alaska are worried that a case set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court could end a long-standing practice of the state accepting ballots after Election Day. The justices are set to hear arguments Monday in a case challenging Mississippi’s grace period for ballots postmarked by Election Day but received afterward.
Read more »
Supreme Court Weighs State Authority on Late Mail-In Ballots Ahead of MidtermsThe Supreme Court is set to decide whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day but postmarked by the deadline, a case that could significantly impact voting rules across the US ahead of the midterm elections.
Read more »
The Latest: Supreme Court will decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballotsThe U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Monday to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots — an election issue targeted
Read more »
Supreme Court reverses lower court on qualified immunity for Vermont police sergeant who arrested protesterFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
The Latest: Supreme Court will decide whether states can keep counting late mail ballotsThe U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots — an election issue targeted by President Donald Trump.
Read more »