The Supreme Court Could Throw Out Your Mail-In Ballot. Trump Mailed His Today.

The big picture: The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day should be discarded, even if mailed on time. Mississippi’s five-day grace period is directly at stake, along with similar laws in 14 other states and D.C. The ruling comes this summer, months before the midterms.

Why it matters: Millions of Americans rely on mail-in voting and grace period laws. A ruling against those laws could disproportionately affect rural, elderly, and overseas military voters. The decision lands right before a midterm election expected to be decided by razor-thin margins.

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The case: The challenge targets Mississippi’s law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive within five days. Twenty-eight other states and D.C. have similar provisions. The argument is that late-arriving ballots shouldn’t count regardless of postmark.

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The oral arguments: Justice Kagan argued that ballot deadlines have always been a state decision, a principle rooted in how American elections have functioned since the founding. The question is whether the current Court will uphold that precedent or override it.

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The Trump contradiction: Trump has repeatedly called mail-in voting corrupt and is holding the government shutdown hostage to the SAVE America Act, which would restrict voting access. According to the Washington Post, he mailed in his own ballot for Florida’s special election today. He also voted by mail in 2020, the election he spent months claiming was rigged by mail-in ballots.

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Who’s affected: Rural voters with slower mail service. Elderly voters who rely on mail-in ballots. Military voters stationed overseas. Voters in states that have built their entire election infrastructure around mail-in voting. All could see their ballots discarded for arriving a day or two late through no fault of their own.

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By the numbers:

• 14 — states plus D.C. with mail-in ballot grace period laws at risk

• 5 — days in Mississippi’s grace period

• 2 — times Trump has voted by mail while calling it corrupt

• 0 — days between the ruling and midterm campaign season

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The bottom line: The Court rules this summer. If grace periods fall, millions of voters in 14 states and DC could have ballots tossed for arriving late even if mailed on time. The president who’s been demanding restrictions on mail-in voting mailed in his own ballot today. Check your state’s rules now, vote as early as possible, and pay attention to this ruling. It could be the most consequential election decision before a single vote is cast in November.

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