Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Mississippi Mail Ballot Grace Period

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in March in Watson v. Republican National Committee. The case examines whether Mississippi's law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five days violates a federal statute that defines Election Day. Mississippi is one of 15 states plus the District of Columbia that permit such grace periods.

A decision is expected by the end of June.

If the Court rules against grace periods, the 15 affected states would need to update materials, train staff, and inform voters before the November election. States with and without grace periods reject mail ballots for lateness at similar rates of roughly 0.2 percent of returned ballots.

Roughly 103,000 mail ballots were rejected nationwide for arriving late in 2024, accounting for 18 percent of all mail ballot rejections.

Military and overseas ballots were rejected for lateness at more than eight times the rate of domestic mail ballots in 2024. Eleven states that require domestic ballots by Election Day already give Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act voters extra time.

Election offices in affected states would face added costs for voter education and reprinting materials. Both groups of states report nearly all results within a week of Election Day, with no statistically significant difference in speed. The policy of grace periods does not divide cleanly along partisan lines.

Alaska, Mississippi, Texas, and West Virginia allow grace periods despite varying political leanings.