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BumRushDaShow

(169,735 posts)
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:04 PM Mar 23

Supreme Court sounds skeptical of late-arriving ballots, a Trump target

Source: AP

Updated 12:33 PM EDT, March 23, 2026


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ‘s conservative majority on Monday sounded skeptical of state laws that allow the counting of late-arriving mail ballots, a persistent target of President Donald Trump. The court heard arguments in a case from Mississippi that also could affect voters in 13 other states and the District of Columbia, which have grace periods for ballots cast by mail. An additional 15 states that have more forgiving deadlines for ballots from military and overseas voters also could be impacted.

A ruling is expected by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections. The court challenge is part of Trump’s broader attack on most mail balloting, which he has said breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and years of experience in numerous states.

Several conservative justices gave voice to some of Trump’s complaints. Justice Samuel Alito wondered about the appearance of fraud in situations where “a big stash of ballots” that arrive late “radically flipped” an election.

Defending the state law, Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart pointed out that the Trump administration and its allies in the case have yet to submit a single case of fraud due to late-arriving mail ballots. The court’s liberal justices indicated they would uphold state laws with post-Election Day deadlines. “The people who should decide this issue are not the courts, but Congress, the states and Congress,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-elections-mailed-ballots-a516e60209e68642f4d74947fa06017f

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Supreme Court sounds skeptical of late-arriving ballots, a Trump target (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Mar 23 OP
Once it's submitted to the government i.e. the usps it should count Blues Heron Mar 23 #1
They'll have to square it with contract law bucolic_frolic Mar 23 #3
next step: ballots not final counted by midnight... ret5hd Mar 23 #2
Post Mark Works for the Taxes Every April Gorhamtowne Mar 23 #4
That is an excellent question. pandr32 Mar 23 #6
USPS now says post marks may not be applied at the time of mailing DetroitLegalBeagle Mar 23 #8
So :-) Gorhamtowne Mar 23 #10
Worried about a "big stash of ballots arriving late" and maybe flipping an election Alito"? Bengus81 Mar 23 #5
Not worried. Planning for quakerboy Mar 23 #12
Words he didn't say: These are LEGAL BALLOTS. Grins Mar 24 #21
To approach this as if it were a chronic problem, or a radical one ignores the changes in postal services wrought Ford_Prefect Mar 23 #7
Slow-Walk The Mail-in Ballots 2na fisherman Mar 23 #9
The IRS accepts PO proof of mailing as timely surfered Mar 23 #11
As stated in a comment above, this would seem to be unconstitutional as it is arbitrary Scalded Nun Mar 23 #13
If they allow the federal government to ban this... regnaD kciN Mar 23 #14
There's more stuff in the law Trump wants than just this newdeal2 Mar 23 #16
Since Democratic voters are overall Mme. Defarge Mar 23 #15
Disenfranchising voters is a Republican thing Zorro Mar 23 #17
Missing from the post: Who's the plaintiff? Grins Mar 24 #23
Wouldn't mailing in it three business days before Election Day make this matter moot? Polybius Mar 23 #18
"Wouldn't mailing in it three business days before Election Day make this matter moot?" BumRushDaShow Mar 24 #19
No reason it shouldn't. This is LOCAL mail just going downtown,not going hundreds of Bengus81 Mar 24 #22
This sucks...Don't most states also have a "hard deadline"? LeftInTX Mar 24 #20

bucolic_frolic

(55,129 posts)
3. They'll have to square it with contract law
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:19 PM
Mar 23

A postmark indicates the date of a contract. But now USPS may not always postmark on the same day as mailing.

ret5hd

(22,502 posts)
2. next step: ballots not final counted by midnight...
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:18 PM
Mar 23

on election day tossed.

think i’m kidding? where are ballots counted late? cities

Gorhamtowne

(12 posts)
4. Post Mark Works for the Taxes Every April
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:21 PM
Mar 23

It seems to me, if it is "constitutional" for a US Postal date mark to work whenever we file our taxes on April 15th, then logically, it would apply to mail in ballots. Should the Supreme Court declare postmarked date for this activity as "Unconstitutional?

DetroitLegalBeagle

(2,504 posts)
8. USPS now says post marks may not be applied at the time of mailing
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:31 PM
Mar 23

The post marks are now not applied locally, but at the distribution centers when they process it, so there is now a delay in the process. This is a issue in the legal world as now post marks are no longer being relied on, only registered or certified mail now as those are stamped at time of acceptance.

Gorhamtowne

(12 posts)
10. So :-)
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:42 PM
Mar 23

Do we need to pay money to legally submit our vote with a legally verifiable certified or registered piece of mail with # applied in order to legitimately be applied to the vote count?

Bengus81

(10,163 posts)
5. Worried about a "big stash of ballots arriving late" and maybe flipping an election Alito"?
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:25 PM
Mar 23

But if they're Military ballots that would be OK, no fraud? Why is that?

quakerboy

(14,864 posts)
12. Not worried. Planning for
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:44 PM
Mar 23

Biden left a bunch of trump stooges running the USPS, and mail delivery has suffered accordingly. The idea of holding back a bunch of ballots in selected areas so that they cant be counted is a wet dream for the Epstein party.

Grins

(9,457 posts)
21. Words he didn't say: These are LEGAL BALLOTS.
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 04:18 PM
Mar 24

This isn’t election or voter fraud. They are arguing over the process and timing, something for which states have complete responsibility.

It is voter suppression; something the GOP has been doing for more than 60-years.

Ford_Prefect

(8,610 posts)
7. To approach this as if it were a chronic problem, or a radical one ignores the changes in postal services wrought
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:29 PM
Mar 23

By Trump, the GOP and their agents since 2010. It is one more exaggeration of a false internet meme.

The underlying laws were passed to enable more registered voters to participate in electing our government and determining policy which affects them.

The GOP takes the view that more people voting is bad for governance (by the GOP). Thus any option taken out of context can be argued as an unreasonable exception. I am 73 years old. Throughout my entire life the standard of acceptance for ANY mailed document has ALWAYS been the postmark date. Throughout the decades judges and juries alike have reinforced that aspect.

NOW when the GOP want to trim the voting pool to suit their perfidy they have decided that decades of prior law and practice have no basis.

I wonder how the generations who fought the great wars would view such interference in a fundamental constitutional right?

2na fisherman

(328 posts)
9. Slow-Walk The Mail-in Ballots
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 01:33 PM
Mar 23

If the SC decides that these ballots must be delivered to the Registrar of Voters by election day, what happens if Trump directs his Postmaster General to find ways to misdirect them or slow down delivery of them? There could be new orders to letter carriers to put them in "Special Ballot Tubs" for greater "election security." So many of them must not be counted by being past the deadline. Can this be targeted in certain precincts to Republican advantage? Or might it backfire as Republican ballots may not count as well?

Scalded Nun

(1,691 posts)
13. As stated in a comment above, this would seem to be unconstitutional as it is arbitrary
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 03:18 PM
Mar 23

If this were to become law, then tax filings would have to be received by 15 April or be subject to fines/penalties/interest. You can't just say 'OK, you must be here by date/day or you are docked pay', but 'you over there, it's OK if you are a day late for any reason whatsoever'.

So much bullshit. Rather than just doing the right thing for people, they just want to keep fucking over the country and doing anything to stay in charge.

regnaD kciN

(27,639 posts)
14. If they allow the federal government to ban this...
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 03:19 PM
Mar 23

…it seems it would automatically approve Trump unilaterally imposing the SAVE Act by Executive Order.

newdeal2

(5,410 posts)
16. There's more stuff in the law Trump wants than just this
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 07:21 PM
Mar 23

He doesn’t want any mail in voting except very limited circumstances. Plus a whole bunch of ID bullshit.

Mme. Defarge

(9,019 posts)
15. Since Democratic voters are overall
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 04:08 PM
Mar 23

better educated and more intelligent than Republican voters, do we have reason to hope that Democrats will plan accordingly and will overwhelmingly turn out for our candidates? That, and given the extreme dissatisfaction with our economy and another Republican war on the part of a majority of voters, might a substantial number of R’s vote against thie own candidates?

Grins

(9,457 posts)
23. Missing from the post: Who's the plaintiff?
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 04:34 PM
Mar 24

Ahhhh! Yes. Of course. The usual suspects.

“Watson v. Republican National Committee, the Republican Party of Mississippi.

Conservatives - who really want a King.

Polybius

(21,900 posts)
18. Wouldn't mailing in it three business days before Election Day make this matter moot?
Mon Mar 23, 2026, 08:51 PM
Mar 23

Heck, mail it a week before just to be safe. Why wait till the last minute to mail it in?

BumRushDaShow

(169,735 posts)
19. "Wouldn't mailing in it three business days before Election Day make this matter moot?"
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 07:28 AM
Mar 24

No. Even the extra cost USPS priority mail that is estimated as 2 - 3 days is no longer guaranteed. I had a priority mail sent from outside of NYC (Long Island), which is about 100 miles north of here in Philly, suddenly go 600 miles south from NY to Charlotte, NC, and finally get here 5 days after that 2 - 3 day expected delivery date. Simply throwing it on a USPS truck and sending that down the NJ Turnpike might have taken 3 hours max with traffic. Even popping it on Amtrak, like they used to do, might have been the same. But USPS didn't want to pay overtime to keep things on time after cutting staff.

I watched one of my packages sent by USPS coming from a well known Boardwalk candy company in Atlantic City, which is about 60 miles southeast of here in Philly (a less than 2 hour drive on the AC expressway with traffic), go from AC which is in South Jersey, all the way north to Connecticut, then go southwest again to North Jersey, and finally go southwest from there to get here to Philly.

I have been lucky so far doing short distance "local" mail here in Philly, having it get to an addressee in a day or two. I mailed my last year's general election ballot on 10/13/35 and the city registered receipt 10/16/25. However for people who might live in more suburban/rural areas, all bets might be off.

But what also happens is that municipalities contract out the printing of ballots - whether for mail-in OR for "in person", and there have been numerous occasions where there was some printing error or some candidate was left off by mistake (or a court resolved their eligibility after the ballots were printed) or were kept on (who should have been off) and they have to reprint. So that ends up taking things closer and closer to election time before they are "ready", impacting mail voters, early voters, or even in person voters.

ALL of this so the media can have "instant results" and call a race a minute after the polls close.

Bengus81

(10,163 posts)
22. No reason it shouldn't. This is LOCAL mail just going downtown,not going hundreds of
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 04:24 PM
Mar 24

miles away. People need to check out and see if they have boxes provided by the County,we do.

Everyone could test though right now. Mail yourself a letter ,dropping it off at the PO.

LeftInTX

(34,286 posts)
20. This sucks...Don't most states also have a "hard deadline"?
Tue Mar 24, 2026, 11:44 AM
Mar 24

In Texas, it is six days after the election for military ballots. (Everyone else is election day)

Have a hard deadline and part of the problem solved. I know about the PO delays, but Gorsuch is complaining that ballots would be counted that arrive in January......

Don't most states have to certify elections like two weeks after the election? Hence, Gorsuch's fantasy is a "pie in the sky". Hence there is already a "hard deadline"...

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