Supreme court appears ready to strike down mississippi ballot postmark law, impacting nationwide elections

Just days before Easter, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court delivered a pre-holiday treat to its allies, rehearsing the details of a contentious Mississippi law allowing for a grace period in ballot receipt. Despite the challengers offering no concrete evidence of fraud, Justice Alito and colleagues seemed poised to strike down the provision, which could have far-reaching implications for federal elections come November.

Mississippi's law at the center of the controversy

In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mississippi passed a law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day but received up to five business days later by election officials. The Republican National Committee, Mississippi's GOP, a voter, a county election official, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi challenged the law, arguing it conflicted with a 1845 federal statute establishing November's first Tuesday as