CED Newsletters & Policy Alerts

Supreme Court to Decide Major Mail Voting Case

November 11, 2025

Action: The Supreme Court on November 10 agreed to hear a case that will decide whether Federal law requires mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day. The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, involves a challenge by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to Mississippi’s law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are received within five business days after Election Day (and postmarked on or before Election Day). In March, the President signed the Executive Order Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, which aimed to ban the counting of ballots received after Election Day.

Trusted Insights for What's Ahead^®

• A Federal judge upheld Mississippi’s law, rejecting the plea by the RNC, the Mississippi Republican Party, and two individuals that it conflicts with Federal law. The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, which reversed the lower court’s decision, arguing that Federal election law requires all ballots to be received by Election Day. Mississippi appealed to the Supreme Court in June arguing that the timing of “an ‘election’ is the conclusive choice of an officer” – which occurs by the deadline as long as voters cast their ballots by then, even if election officials do not receive them by that day [.]”
• Trends towards voting by mail accelerated during the pandemic. The percentage of voters who used this method of voting in 2020 rose to 43.1%, up from 24.5% in 2016. In 2024, the number of voters voting by mail remained significantly higher than prepandemic levels at 30.3%. (Figures include states, mostly in the West, that conduct most or all voting by mail.)
• Twenty-eight states offer “no-excuse” absentee voting, meaning that any voter can request and cast a vote by mail without having to give a defined reason. Eight states and the District of Columbia allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail; while all registered voters are mailed a ballot, opportunities for in-person voting remain.
• Currently, sixteen states, in addition to Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC, accept and count mail-in ballots received after Election Day so long as the ballot is postmarked on or before (sometimes only before) Election Day. This year, Kansas, North Dakota, and Utah enacted amendments eliminating their state’s grace period allowing mail-in ballots to be received past Election Day.
• US election administration is highly decentralized, with each state having its own laws governing voting procedures. However, Federal law provides for some standards to which states must adhere.
• What this means for business: A decision against Mississippi would reshape voting procedures for employees who vote in the sixteen states that currently allow ballots to be received after Election Day. Tighter receipt rules may result in workforce disruptions, as employees who plan to vote by mail may resort to voting in person if they have not done so early enough. While the change might speed the counting of votes, it could also result in some ballots not being counted. It might also increase pressures on employers to give time off or paid time off to vote on Election Day, an area in which there is significant variation among state laws.