Supreme Court Upholds Postmarked Mail Ballot Grace Period
The U. S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold a Mississippi statute that permits mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five days, NPR reported.
Later, the Court rejected a challenge from the Republican National Committee and affirmed that states may count postmarked ballots that arrive after Election Day, NBC said. BBC noted that the ruling could affect voting deadlines in more than a dozen pivotal states, extending the impact of the decision nationwide. The Mississippi decision set the legal precedent, and the subsequent nationwide ruling clarified that the grace period applies across the country, shaping how dozens of states will handle late-arriving mail ballots in future elections.