CHICAGO (WLS) — The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that states may keep setting their own standards for handling mail-in ballots, turning aside a challenge supported by President Donald Trump in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
By a close 5-4 vote, the justices left in place a Mississippi statute that permits election officials to count mailed ballots received after Election Day, provided they satisfy the state’s rules. The majority concluded that federal law does not specify the exact point at which ballots must be counted.
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Regulations for voting by mail vary across the country. Illinois counts ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and arrive within 14 days, while Mississippi allows a five-day window. Republicans challenging the Mississippi measure argued that only ballots physically received by Election Day should be included.
“The argument was that this federal statute created a day, and the court said it doesn’t. It creates a day by which you have to cast your ballot,” said Ed Yohnka, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
The decision reinforces the principle that states and local jurisdictions retain broad authority over how elections are administered.
“The important thing here is elections according (to) our constitution are functions of state and local government, not of the White House,” Yohnka said.
The outcome is a legal defeat for Trump, who has continued to argue that mail-in voting increases the risk of election fraud.
“The ruling that a lot of people were waiting for is detrimental to honest elections,” Trump said.
Despite those claims, millions of voters from both parties used mail-in ballots in the 2024 presidential election. Trump himself mailed a ballot in a recent Florida election.
Voting advocates say the method remains secure and expands access, particularly for certain groups. The League of Women Voters points to its benefits for military members, people with disabilities, elderly voters and those living in rural areas. The organization also says grace periods are necessary to account for potential postal service delays.
“It has become much, much more popular. I think it gives people the opportunity to vote when maybe other times they would not have been given the opportunity,” said Barbara Kwiatkowsky of the League of Women Voters of Illinois.
Trump is now calling on Congress to pass his proposed SAVE America Act. The measure would allow mail-in ballots for certain groups while requiring voters to provide photo identification and proof of citizenship. At this point, the proposal does not have enough support to pass in the Senate.
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