In a high-stakes legal challenge that could reshape American voting procedures, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed a final brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day.
The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, centers on whether federal law requires voter ballots to be physically received by officials on the designated election day to count, rather than merely postmarked by that date.
At the heart of the RNC’s argument is a trio of federal statutes dating back to the 19th century. These laws mandate that the “day for the election” for the Presidency, Senate, and House be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
“When Congress designated a single ‘day for the election,’ it set a deadline,” the RNC argues in its brief. “If a state law extends the election after that deadline, ‘it conflicts with’ Congress’s timing decision, “and to that extent is void.”
The RNC asserts that an “election” is not merely the individual act of a voter marking a choice, but a public process that is only “consummated” when the state takes custody of the ballots. By allowing a five-day grace period for mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, the RNC claims Mississippi is effectively extending the federal election beyond the period authorized by Congress.
The brief frames the issue as a matter of public trust, arguing that prolonged ballot receipt windows fuel national anxiety.
“These post-election receipt deadlines invite ‘the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election,'” the brief states.
The RNC highlights a growing divide in the American voting experience: while some states provide immediate results, others remain in a state of “limbo” for days or weeks. The brief argues that as long as ballots are still arriving at counting centers, “the election isn’t over” in any ordinary sense of the word.
The Republican plaintiffs point to the 1997 Supreme Court case Foster v. Love, which held that any state law conflicting with the uniform national election day is preempted by federal law. They further argue that for over a century, the historical consensus was that the “ballot box” closed on Election Day.
The RNC argues that modern “experiments” with late-arriving ballots are a radical departure from this tradition. They dismiss arguments that a ballot is “cast” the moment it is mailed, noting that U.S. Postal Service regulations theoretically allow senders to recall mail, meaning a vote isn’t truly final until the state has secured it.
A ruling in favor of the RNC would have immediate consequences far beyond Mississippi. Currently, 15 other states and the District of Columbia allow some form of post-election ballot receipt for the general public, while nearly 30 states permit it for military and overseas voters.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson has defended the law, arguing that “election” refers to the voters making their choice, not the administrative act of receipt. However, a unanimous panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals previously sided with the RNC, ruling that “the election concludes when the final ballots are received.”
The Supreme Court, which granted certiorari on November 10, 2025, is expected to hear oral arguments in early 2026, with a final decision likely by June.
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