RNC Urges Supreme Court to Stay Out of Mississippi Mail Ballot Deadline Case

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Mississippi’s request to review a federal appeals court decision that struck down the state’s post–Election Day grace period.

In a brief filed Monday, the RNC argued the justices should not review the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling, which held that Mississippi’s five-day grace period for counting mail ballots postmarked by Election Day violates federal law.

“The Fifth Circuit correctly held that the federal election day is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials,” the RNC wrote. “A post-election receipt deadline for mail ballots extends ‘the election’ beyond the ‘day’ set by Congress.”

Mississippi law previously allowed mail-in ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days after the election, so long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. Grace periods like this are often a safeguard for voters who rely on the mail service to vote — especially military, overseas and rural voters — ensuring that ballots mailed on time aren’t thrown out simply because of postal delays.

The RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party and individual voters sued in 2024, claiming that extending the receipt deadline “dilutes the weight of timely, valid ballots” of voters who comply with the deadline.

In its decision last October, the Fifth Circuit concluded that Mississippi’s law conflicted with federal law by “permitting the receipt and counting of ballots after federal Election Day” which, the court argued, “extends the election beyond the day set by Congress” and was therefore preempted by federal statute. 

The move is notable given the Supreme Court’s current conservative supermajority that could theoretically take up the case now and strike down grace periods nationwide. By asking the court to stay out, the RNC is signaling it wants to protect its regional victory and possibly use it as precedent in other states before risking a nationwide ruling.

This puts the RNC at odds with other conservative groups who want the Supreme Court to take up the case immediately and issue a sweeping ruling ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

For now, the Fifth Circuit decision remains binding in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, potentially serving as a blueprint for similar legal challenges elsewhere.

The RNC also pushed back on calls to pause the case until the court rules in Bost v. Illinois, a pending challenge over who has standing to sue in ballot deadline cases.

Voting rights advocates warn if the Fifth Circuit ruling spreads, millions of voters in other states that allow grace periods could lose access to having their ballots counted.