FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MISSISSIPPI – June 29, 2026 – Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision upholding Mississippi’s law that accepts mail-in absentee ballots as long as they are postmarked by election day and received within five business days thereafter. The Court rejected an argument from the Republican National Committee (RNC) claiming that Mississippi’s five-day window, and similar laws in other states, conflict with federal laws setting the “day for the election” for President and members of Congress as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The majority ruled that this language is satisfied as long as the ballots are postmarked by election day, and that the states may set later deadlines for receipt of ballots by mail.
“Mississippi already makes it difficult to cast absentee ballots, which falls heavily on elderly and disabled people,” said Rob McDuff, an attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) who worked on the case. “The five-day window makes it a bit easier and, fortunately, the Supreme Court has upheld it so that it still applies in federal general elections as well as all other elections in Mississippi. This is good for voters in Mississippi and other states with similar laws regarding receipt of mail-in ballots.”
Even though the window remains in place, Kimberly Jones Merchant, President and CEO of MCJ, urged voters to act promptly when voting absentee. “Voters who qualify to vote absentee should request their absentee ballots as soon as possible, and once they receive them, should fill them out and deliver them to the circuit clerk immediately. We don’t want people’s votes to go uncounted because they were not delivered, postmarked, or received in time.”
MCJ assisted the Elias Law Group (ELG) of Washington, D.C., in representing Vet Voice Foundation and the Mississippi Alliance for Retired Persons in defending the Mississippi law that contains the five-day window. Mississippi’s Attorney General also defended the law. The law was challenged in a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee (RNC). The Federal District Court in Gulfport originally upheld the law, but on appeal by the RNC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overruled it, concluding that it violated the federal general election-day statutes. Mississippi’s Attorney General asked the Supreme Court to review that decision, and upon review, the Supreme Court overruled the Fifth Circuit and upheld Mississippi’s law.
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The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) is a nonprofit law firm that advances racial and economic justice through litigation, policy advocacy, and community education. Through partnerships and direct legal services, MCJ works to ensure that all Mississippians have access to justice and opportunity.
Media Contact:
Tara Y. Wren
Director of Communications
Mississippi Center for Justice
601-487-7504
twren@mscenterforjustice.org