Watson v. Republican National Committee · ¶115

The majority holds that a State complies with the federal election-day statutes if it requires that ballots are postmarked by election day and received within five days after. But this ostensibly simple holding obfuscates the many unsettling questions that the majority’s position entails. For instance, do the federal election-day statutes impose any ballot-receipt deadlines? Mississippi counts absentee ballots that arrive up to five days after the federal election day, but nothing in the majority opinion turns on that 5-day duration. Indeed, some States will count mail-in ballots that arrive as late as 21 days after election day. See Wash. Rev. Code §29A.60.190 (2025). If the “election” is complete when voters fill out their ballots and send them on their way, may States eliminate ballot-receipt deadlines entirely? It appears that the only federal backstops for ballot receipt are the…

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