BREAKING: The United States Supreme Court just issued a major election-law ruling.

In Watson v. Republican National Committee, the Court held that federal law does not stop Mississippi from counting absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but received within five business days after the election.
The Court’s point was fairly simple: federal law sets Election Day as the day voters must make their choice. But the current federal statutes do not say that every absentee ballot must physically arrive at the election office by Election Day.
That distinction mattered.
The Republican National Committee and others argued that allowing ballots to arrive after Election Day unlawfully extends the election. The Supreme Court disagreed and reversed the Fifth Circuit.
The Court made clear it was not deciding whether this is the best policy. It was not saying Congress could never create a national receipt deadline. It was simply saying Congress has not done that in the current federal election-day statutes.
So, for now, states may continue to set their own rules on when absentee ballots must be received, so long as the voter’s choice was made by Election Day.
The dissent saw it differently and argued that accepting ballots after Election Day means the election is not actually completed on Election Day.
This is a significant ruling for absentee voting across the country, especially in states that already count ballots mailed by Election Day but received afterward.
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