# Supreme Court backs mail ballot grace periods in blow to Trump  
**Published:** 2026-06-29T21:26:38.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/repub/us-supreme-court-deals-blow-to-trump-ruling-states-can-accept-ballots-after-election-day/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/supreme-court-backs-mail-ballot-grace-periods-in-blow-to-trump

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in a case with implications for voting access nationwide, according to [reporting from the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/repub/us-supreme-court-deals-blow-to-trump-ruling-states-can-accept-ballots-after-election-day/).

In a 5-4 decision, the court found that federal law does not prevent states from accepting late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, reasoned that voters make their choice when they cast ballots, not when election officials receive them. "The electorate's choice is made when voting is complete, not when ballots are received," Barrett wrote.

The case, RNC v. Watson, centered on Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five business days. Thirteen states currently have similar grace period laws, and the ruling protects their ability to count late-arriving ballots ahead of November's midterm elections. The Supreme Court decision avoids what would have been a logistical nightmare for states, including California and Illinois, that had budgeted significant resources to educate voters about deadline changes just months before the election.

While Nebraska requires all early voting ballots to arrive by the close of polls on Election Day and does not have a grace period, the decision affects voting access nationally. About 30 percent of voters cast mail ballots in 2024, and military and overseas voters are among those who benefit most from extended deadlines due to mail delays.

Trump called the decision "a tremendous loss" and renewed his push for the SAVE America Act, restrictive election legislation that has stalled in the GOP-led Senate. Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters accused Democrats of inviting "chaos" by allowing elections to "drag on" for days after voters cast ballots.

Voting rights advocates hailed the decision as a victory for ballot access. "This is a victory for all the states and for all those who respect the will of the Founders, who ensured the security of our elections by giving the power to run those elections to the states," said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

The court's conservative dissenters, led by Justice Samuel Alito, warned the decision creates "a serious risk of further undermining public confidence in our elections." At least 725,000 ballots were postmarked by Election Day in 2024 and arrived within legally accepted windows in 14 states and territories where late-arriving ballots were accepted.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/repub/us-supreme-court-deals-blow-to-trump-ruling-states-can-accept-ballots-after-election-day/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/29/repub/us-supreme-court-deals-blow-to-trump-ruling-states-can-accept-ballots-after-election-day/.