The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the systems in some states that count mail ballots arriving after Election Day as valid do not violate federal law. Because U.S. President Donald Trump has argued for eliminating mail voting, saying it could cause election fraud, attention is on how the ruling will affect the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
On the 29th (local time), the Supreme Court rejected the plaintiffs' claims in a lawsuit filed in 2024 by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Mississippi Republican Party, in a 5-4 opinion. The court found that Mississippi's mail voting system does not violate federal law.
Under current Mississippi law, mail ballots postmarked by Election Day are counted as valid if they arrive within five business days after Election Day. Fourteen states, including Mississippi, and Washington, D.C., allow a grace period for the arrival of mail ballots postmarked by Election Day, and a little over 10 states operate a similar system on a limited basis for service members and overseas residents.
The plaintiffs argued that, in light of federal law defining federal Election Day as "the Tuesday after the first Monday in November," such a system is illegal, but the Supreme Court did not accept that argument.
U.S. media said the ruling could be a political blow to President Trump. CNN and the New York Times (NYT) analyzed that the decision could also be a burden on the Republican Party's midterm election strategy.
Trump has urged Congress to pass the Strengthening and Voter Eligibility law (SAVE law), which would fundamentally restrict mail voting. More recently, he criticized the delay in the tally of the Los Angeles (LA) mayoral primary due to counting mail ballots.
Initially, some U.S. outlets projected that, given the conservative tilt of the court, the plaintiffs' claims might be accepted, but the ruling upended those expectations. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, among others, are considered conservative.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that during the 2024 U.S. general election, more than 750,000 mail ballots were sent with postmarks before Election Day and arrived within the grace period after Election Day.
Trump expressed disappointment with the ruling but argued that it underscores the need for his SAVE bill.
On his social media platform Truth Social, he wrote, "There was a massive loss today in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding voters' rights." He then told reporters at the White House that it was "a ruling that gives people time to vote illegally" and said he was "somewhat surprised."
Trump said, "Every voter must present a photo ID, provide proof of citizenship, and mail voting should not be allowed except in exceptional cases," emphasizing, "There is no reason to oppose these three SAVE bill requirements."
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican–Louisiana) said the day before that he would convene the House this week to push to include the SAVE bill in the budget reconciliation process, so the Senate can pass it by a simple majority.
Republicans hold 53 of the Senate's 100 seats, short of the 60 needed to pass ordinary legislation. They are therefore pursuing a strategy to use the reconciliation process, which can bypass a filibuster, to pass the SAVE bill.
Trump also said, "If we use the reconciliation process, we can pass the SAVE bill with just 50 votes," repeatedly calling for the dismissal of Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who has said the bill does not qualify for reconciliation.
He also claimed that, within the Republican Party, Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky) supports the SAVE bill, but Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) oppose it.
Even if all of those senators oppose it, however, it is uncertain whether the bill can be passed through reconciliation. In particular, there have been reports that Sen. Cassidy supports the SAVE bill, which differs from Trump's claim.