Alito signals skepticism of late ballots, says 'Election Day' means one day

Key Points:

• Justice Samuel Alito emphasized the literal interpretation of "Election Day" as a single, definitive day during Supreme Court arguments on whether states can count mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but received later.
• The case arose from a Republican National Committee lawsuit challenging Mississippi's law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five days afterward; the 5th Circuit ruled in favor of the RNC.
• Conservative justices appeared skeptical of late-arriving ballots, while Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan expressed concerns about potential impacts on early voting if "Election Day" is strictly defined.
• A ruling against late-arriving ballots could affect more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., which currently accept such ballots, potentially requiring all ballots to be received by the close of polls and impacting the 2026 midterms.
• Military and overseas ballots governed by federal law would likely be exempt, and several Republican-led states have recently tightened rules to require ballots to be received by Election Day.