Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots. What does it mean for Nevada?

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day, a persistent target of President Donald Trump.

The 5-4 decision rejected a Republican-led attack on laws in more than half the states and the District of Columbia that permit mailed ballots to arrive and be counted some number of days after the election, provided they are postmarked by Election Day. The outcome spares officials the headache of changing their ballot rules just a few months before the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

“Nevada’s elections will not change – we will continue to run safe, secure and accessible elections this year without the interference and intimidation of the federal government. This is the third win in the last week for Nevada voters against attempts at restricting access to mail ballots,” Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said in a statement after the ruling was announced

The Supreme Court case originated in Mississippi, where the Republican National Committee and the state’s Libertarian Party sued the state over a law that allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be accepted for five subsequent days.

Nevada and about a dozen other states passed similar laws. Plaintiffs argued that the laws undermine trust and confidence in the election process.

The Silver State allows ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be accepted for up to four days after the election. Mail returned without a legible postmark is accepted for up to three days.

Roughly 45 percent of Nevada voters cast a ballot through the mail in the 2024 General Election, with Douglas and Nye counties leading in participation, according to the state. Day-of turnout was about 18 percent.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the court’s majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal justices.

The legal challenge was 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. Trump has repeatedly claimed that his loss to Joe Biden in 2020 resulted from fraud even though more than 60 court decisions and his own attorney general said that argument had no merit.

The court heard arguments in March in a case from Mississippi pitting the state against Trump’s Republican administration and the Republican and Libertarian parties. At issue was whether federal law sets a single Election Day that requires ballots to be both cast by voters and received by state officials.

The federal appeals court in New Orleans struck down a Mississippi law allowing ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days of the election and are postmarked by Election Day.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal contributed to this report.