Supreme Court Allows States to Count Mail Ballots After Election Day

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states can accept mail-in ballots in federal races even if they arrive after polls close on Election Day. The decision in Watson v. Republican National Committee (No. 24-1260) settles—at least for now—a question that had divided lower courts and created uncertainty for election officials in roughly 30 states: whether counting ballots postmarked by Election Day but received later is legal under the Constitution.

How We Got Here

The case followed another major election lawsuit. Earlier this year, in Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections (No. 24-568), Congressman Michael Bost and two other federal candidates challenged Illinois's practice of counting ballots that arrived after Election Day, arguing it violated federal law. That case set up the legal questions the Court would face in Watson.

The stakes were large. About 30 states count at least some absentee ballots mailed by Election Day but received later, according to the Watson majority opinion. Mississippi, for instance, accepts absentee ballots up to five business days after Election Day. If the Court had sided with the Republican National Committee, those states would have needed to rewrite their election laws before the 2026 midterms—a tight deadline and major logistical undertaking.

What the Court Said

The 5-4 decision split along the Court's familiar ideological lines. The core ruling: states can set their own rules allowing mail ballots to arrive and be counted after Election Day in federal races. Federal law—specifically a statute setting a uniform Election Day—does not override state law on this point, at least as the majority interprets it.

The Republican National Committee had argued that federal law requires a single national Election Day, and any ballot received after that day falls outside the legal window. The Court rejected this argument. The majority's reasoning turned on a distinction: the act of voting happens when a voter marks and mails a ballot, but the administrative act of receiving and counting it can happen later.

What Happens Now

For election administrators, the ruling is a relief. States that already count ballots for five or seven days after Election Day can keep doing so without changing their laws. States that had been waiting to see what the Court would decide can now move forward with confidence.

The political dimension deserves attention. The Republican National Committee brought both cases partly because mail ballots that arrive after Election Day tend to be counted in higher numbers from voters who lean Democratic. A ruling that required ballots to arrive by Election Day would have reduced the total number of ballots counted in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Court's decision blocks that outcome, at least under the current reading of federal law.

During oral arguments in March 2026, the Brennan Center raised an important point: parts of the case involved claims about mail-ballot fraud rates and mail delivery reliability that experts disputed. The majority's reasoning will likely come under scrutiny once the full opinion is released—especially on these factual questions about how reliable mail voting actually is.

For election law experts, the immediate work is comparing the majority opinion against the dissenting view to find any limits or exceptions the Court may have built in. A 5-4 decision leaves the door open to future legal challenges, or to Congress changing the federal Election Day law if political conditions shift. But neither path is quick. For 2026, Watson is the rule that governs.