Supreme Court will debate meaning of ‘Election Day’ in late mail ballots case

The Supreme Court will weigh the meaning of “Election Day” in federal law — and its impact on state laws that allow mail ballots to be counted after that day — in a case on Monday that could affect voting laws in more than a dozen states.

In Watson v. Republican National Committee, the high court will decide the fate of laws in roughly a dozen states that allow for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted even if they come in days later. A Mississippi law that allows for ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted up to five days later is at the center of oral arguments at the high court on Monday, but the law’s fate will have an impact on similar laws in 13 other states.

The RNC argues that the federal law establishing a uniform Election Day sets the deadline for when ballots must be received. Mississippi officials, however, argue Election Day is the deadline for when a ballot must be cast, and the ballot may be received after that date. The justices will decide which definition of Election Day is legally correct, potentially changing various state laws months ahead of the midterm elections.


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