‘Election Day means Election DAY!’: SCOTUS set to hear dangerous GOP bid to restrict mail voting

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider a GOP effort to dramatically restrict mail-in voting Monday, when it hears oral arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee (RNC). The case asks whether states should be allowed to count ballots that arrive after Election Day — even if sent on or before it. 

But a ruling for Republicans could potentially even tee up future challenges to in-person early voting, too.

The RNC is challenging a 2020 Mississippi law that offers a five-day grace period for late-arriving ballots mailed by Election Day. The RNC argues that the law is preempted by the Election Day Statutes — three laws Congress passed between 1845 and 1914 that set “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November… as the day for the election” for federal elections. 

The question boils down to: When does someone vote? Is it when the ballot is submitted — whether placed in a drop box or a mailbox — or is it when it’s received by election officials?

But beneath that seemingly philosophical issue lies a much starker reality: As so often in recent years, Republicans are adopting a stance that’s as unfriendly as possible to the interests of voters, believing that doing so advantages their party.

The justices’ decision would have ramifications far beyond Mississippi and tardy postal voters. It could strike down or uphold mail-in voting grace periods in 14 states (and Washington D.C.). Depending on how the justices rule, it could also invalidate laws in another 17 states that accept late ballots sent by overseas and military voters, as the Vote Vet Foundation argued in its brief.* 

The DOJ is supporting the RNC’s position and the solicitor general’s office will join the Republican and Libertarian attorneys at Monday’s arguments.

In addition to potentially disenfranchising perhaps hundreds of thousands of mail voters, a decision for the RNC, depending on how broadly it was written, could potentially also put early in-person voting in jeopardy — or at least encourage the GOP to go after it. After all, when voters cast a ballot early — as they’re allowed to do without an excuse in all but three states — they also aren’t voting on Election Day.  

“Election Day means Election DAY! Stay tuned!” is how Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon put it, posting her Department of Justice (DOJ) X account after the court said it would hear the granted certiorari in Watson case. 

Mississippi’s solicitor general will defend the grace period, arguing that an election occurs when voters cast their ballots, not when officials get them or count them (after all, most counting of in-person votes happens after polls close), and thus does not contradict the federal statutes. 

President Donald Trump, who blamed mail-in ballots for his 2020 presidential campaign loss, attempted to ban the counting of ballots that arrive after Election Day by an executive order that the courts quickly blocked. He also has pushed for an amendment to the SAVE America Act that would ban no-excuse mail voting outright.

And the president has also repeatedly demanded an end to early voting, often alongside lies about the 2020 election. 

Even with many states offering grace periods, nearly 104,000 ballots were rejected in 2024 for arriving too late, per federal data. And, as Democracy Docket has reported, new U.S. Postal Service pickup standards may delay ballot deliveries across the nation — particularly in rural areas — potentially disenfranchising millions more. 

After the Republicans and Libertarians challenged Mississippi’s law in 2024, the district court consolidated the case and then ruled against them. 

“Congress set a national election day to avoid the ‘evils’ of burdening citizens with multiple election days and of risking undue influence upon voters in one state from the announced tallies in states voting earlier,” the court wrote.

The parties appealed to the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed, striking down the law. 

“Text, precedent, and historical practice confirm this ‘day for the election’ is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials,” the appellate court wrote.  

The RNC has been looking to curtail mail-in ballots for years now, as Democrats in recent years have used the voting method more than Republicans. The RNC chose to challenge Mississippi’s law given the favorable conservative slant of the 5th Circuit. 

*Vet Voice Foundation are respondents supporting petitioner in this litigation and are represented by the Elias Law Group (ELG). ELG Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.