Supreme Court to Decide if Federal Ballots Received After Election Day Are Counted

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 23 will hear Mississippi’s appeal against a lower court ruling striking down its law counting ballots received after Election Day. The counting of ballots received after Election Day has become an increasingly contentious political issue in recent years. Those who support the practice say it is necessary to maximize participation in the democratic process and that states should be able to craft ballot rules to accommodate voters’ needs. Those who oppose it say that allowing ballots to be accepted after Election Day invites fraud and erodes trust in the system. The Mississippi law allows the state to count mail-in ballots that officials receive within a five-day grace period after Election Day. The law was enacted in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide flexibility to voters....