Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to late-arriving mail-in ballots

The Trump administration's attempts to restrict mail-in voting suffered another legal setback after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day.  The ruling stems from a legal appeal filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) that sought to invalidate a Mississippi "grace period" law, which allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive within five business days. 

After assessing whether federal law overrides the Mississippi law, the court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that federal law does not prevent states from accepting late-arriving ballots. According to the New York Times, similar laws will be in place in at least 18 other states and territories ahead of the midterm elections. According to NBC News, Mississippi officials appealed to the Supreme Court after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the state, declaring that federal law requires all ballots to be cast and received by Election Day to count.

Democrats, who had claimed that the Appelas Court ruling could have disenfranchised several American voters, welcomed the Supreme Court decision. Calling the development "a big win," New York Attorney General Letitia James said, "The right to vote has been a sacred promise for generations. All eligible Americans should be able to exercise that constitutional right, free from restrictions."

Several Republicans, however, termed the ruling "a shockingly wrong opinion." "Justice Barrett joins with the liberal justices to hold that federal election law does not preempt states who allow late mail-in ballots to be counted," Senator Eric Schmitt stated on social media. "This is terrible for election integrity. Another reason we must pass the full SAVE America Act."

President Trump, too, amped up the pressure on Republican senators to get the SAVE American Act passed. Taking to Truth Social, the President wrote, "In light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning Voter's Rights, and the fact that “people’s” votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over, it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT." Trump claimed that there was "no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against" the Act and that the only reason to oppose it would be "cheating."