California election officials are hailing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling validating the process of states accepting mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day.
The Supreme Court on Monday, June 29 said Mississippi can count late-arriving mail-in ballots, handing a defeat to President Donald Trump, who is trying to curtail voting by mail.
More than a dozen states have laws similar to Mississippi. Additional states allow late-arriving ballots from military and overseas voters.
California law allows ballots to be received as much as seven days after election day, as long as they are postmarked on time.
“Today’s decision affirms what Los Angeles County voters deserve: the assurance that a ballot cast by election day will be counted if received within the legal timeframe established in state law,” Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said in a statement. “The decision supports California voters’ preference for voting options that increase access and participation. Our office will continue to provide voter education, multilingual outreach, and leverage available resources to ensure voting access for our 5.8 million registered voters heading into November and in every election that follows. We remain firmly committed to transparency, accuracy, and compliance with all applicable election laws.”
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the court’s ruling “a win for voters, for the rule of law, and for the future of our democracy.”
“By rejecting efforts to shorten the vote-by-mail return window, the court protected an important safeguard that helps ensure service members, overseas voters, Californians with disabilities, and rural communities are not silenced by mail delays beyond their control,” Weber said in a statement.
“This ruling makes one thing clear: our elections belong to the people, not to partisan agendas. As secretary of state, I will keep working to ensure every eligible Californian has the opportunity to be heard, because our democracy is strongest when every voice and vote count.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom also hailed the decision.
“California, like many states, utilizes vote-by-mail to increase participation in our democracy and today’s ruling helps ensure mail-in-ballots get counted and people’s voices are heard through the democratic process, “Newsom said. “Despite ongoing attacks from the Trump Administration, we will continue our work throughout the Golden State to ensure every eligible Californian participates — because democracy is strongest when we all take part.”
Voting by mail has decreased since its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. But nearly 30% of voters still cast a ballot that way in the 2024 elections.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote by mail.
What did the court rule?
The court upheld a state law allowing ballots cast by Election Day to be counted if they’re received within five days.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal justices in backing the law.
“The question today is not whether requiring ballots to be received by election day is a good or bad idea; the question is whether the idea has made its way into the United States Code,” Barrett wrote for the 5-4 majority.
And federal law, she concluded, dictates only that voters make a choice by a specific day, not that their ballots must be received on that day.
In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said accepting late-arriving ballots “effectively postpones the date on which the electorate’s choice is made, and federal law precludes that postponement.”
Trump has targeted mail-in voting
Supporters of mail-in voting say it makes it easier for people – including retirees, service members and rural residents – to cast a ballot. And grace periods prevent people from losing their vote over postal service delays.
But Trump has long railed against mail-in voting as vulnerable to fraud, despite casting a ballot by mail himself in March. He has claimed without evidence that mail-in voting cost him the 2020 election.
Trump has separately tried to end both grace periods and mail-in voting altogether through both an executive order and by pressuring Congress to pass legislation.
He called Monday’s decision a “tremendous loss,” and urged Congress to act.
“There can be no more excuses!” Trump wrote on social media.
The Justice Department backed challenges brought by both the Republican Party and the Libertarian Party to Mississippi’s law.
“Republicans are not going to be deterred by this decision, and the (Republican National Committee) will keep fighting to have elections end on Election Day as Americans want,” RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement.
What is an election?
The legal argument turned on the definition of when an election has occurred, because federal law sets a specific date for U.S. elections.
The Republican Party and the Trump administration said that an election is the day by which ballots must be received.
Mississippi said the election is when voters choose a candidate, so a ballot cast in the mail by Election Day can be received after.
Risk of fraud?
Documented instances of fraud related to voting by mail are rare, according to the Election Data & Science Lab from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A 2025 report from the Brookings Institution estimated there are about four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail-in votes.
But when ballots counted after Election Day affect the outcome of a race, that can raise doubts about their legitimacy even when there is no fraud, critics argue.
“If the election is going to turn on late-arriving ballots in a way that means what everybody kind of thought was the result on Election Day ends up being the opposite a week later, 21 days later, the losers are not going to accept that result,” Paul Clement, the attorney for the Republican Party, told the Supreme Court. “And that is bad for our system.”
NAACP praises decision
Voting-rights groups praised the court’s decision, with NAACP President Derrick Johnson calling the ruling “a win for our democracy.”
Kase Solomon, CEO of Common Cause, said Congress needs to approve nationwide protections for voters.
“Vote by mail is such a useful voting tool, even the president uses it,” Solomon said.
Not the only election-related case
The case, Watson v. Republican National Committee, is not the only election-related matter the justices considered this term.
In a landmark decision, the court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, prompting GOP-led states to scramble to draw new congressional maps benefiting Republicans.
The justices are also deciding whether to overturn restrictions on coordinated spending between parties and candidates, another change sought by Republicans.
City News Service contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California officials hail Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots
Reporting by Maureen Groppe and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Maureen Groppe and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY | USA TODAY Network
