Supreme Court Rules on Post-Election Day Mail-In Ballots, Affirming Mississippi Law

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 5-4 decision on Monday, upholding a Mississippi law that permits the counting of mail-in ballots even if they arrive after Election Day.

Majority Opinion Defines Voter Choice

Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The ruling asserted that federal election statutes establish a deadline for when voters must finalize their electoral choices, but they do not specify a deadline for the physical receipt of ballots to be considered valid.

The electorate’s choice is made when voting is complete, not when ballots are received,

Justice Barrett wrote. She further stated that,

Election-day statutes say nothing about ballot receipt, and we cannot add to the words Congress chose.

Dissenting View on Election Day Significance

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito presented an alternative interpretation of when a voter's choice is truly made. He argued that allowing ballots received after Election Day to influence the election outcome effectively alters the date on which the electorate's decision is finalized.

If ballots received after election day are added to the set of ballots that dictate the election’s outcome, the electorate’s choice does not occur on election day,

Justice Alito contended. He concluded that,

The acceptance of these late-arriving ballots effectively postpones the date on which the electorate’s choice is made.