Election Law and Voting Rights

A coalition of conservative election‑integrity organizations, including the Honest Elections Project and the Center for Election Confidence, has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a 5th Circuit ruling that federal law requires mailed ballots to be received by the close of polls on Election Day, not days later if postmarked in time. The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, stems from the RNC’s challenge to Mississippi’s practice of counting mail ballots that arrive up to five business days after Election Day, and oral arguments are set for March 23 with a decision expected by summer 2026. The groups argue that federal statutes establishing a single Election Day, as interpreted in the Court’s Foster v. Love decision, mean the 'final act of selection' must occur on that day and that receipt of a mail ballot constitutes casting a vote, so states cannot extend receipt deadlines. They also claim accepting late‑arriving ballots erodes public trust, delays results and is unreliable given U.S. Postal Service guidance that postmarks may not always reflect when a ballot entered the mail. Fourteen states plus Washington, D.C., currently count ballots received after Election Day if postmarked on time, so a broad ruling could force those jurisdictions to alter their rules ahead of the 2026 midterms and intensify an already heated national fight over mail voting and election legitimacy.