Republicans’ fight for election security heads to the Supreme Court

OPINION:

When Americans vote, they should know their ballots are secure and will be counted correctly. Every time an illegal or ineligible vote is counted, it dilutes the ballots of lawful Americans.

Still, deliberate attempts by the far left to tear down commonsense safeguards and the failure of many election officials to protect only lawful votes have undermined trust in our elections.

That’s unacceptable, and it’s why the Republican National Committee is fighting on multiple fronts to protect the vote.

Building on our success from 2024 — when the RNC, under the leadership of Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, ran a nationwide election integrity program — our team of attorneys, field staff and election experts is working every day to prepare for the midterms.

Today, we bring that fight to the Supreme Court, as the justices consider the landmark case of Watson v. Republican National Committee.

Mississippi currently accepts and counts mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day. It is not alone.

Sixteen other states also count mail-in ballots received after Election Day. This practice violates federal law, undermines confidence in our elections, and sometimes delays results for weeks after voters have spoken.

In 2024, the RNC sued to overturn Mississippi’s law. Our argument is simple: For more than a century, federal law has said there is a national Election Day for the House, Senate and presidency. Congress specifically wrote that this day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Counting ballots received after this day violates the law.

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Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the RNC’s favor by confirming that federal law requires mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day to count. We’re now asking the Supreme Court to affirm this decision.

Although it has taken more than two years for the RNC to get this case to the Supreme Court, it is just one example of how our election integrity program is fighting year-round, not just on Election Day, to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.

The RNC is engaged in more than 120 election integrity cases in more than 30 states. Our attorneys have launched and supported cases on matters such as last-minute and illegal changes to a ballot design and ensuring parity between Republican and Democratic poll workers.

To secure our elections, we focus on four key areas: defending voter ID laws, ensuring the security of mail-in ballots when they are used, preventing noncitizens from voting, and holding states accountable when they fail to maintain accurate voter rolls. These are commonsense policies that ensure only eligible American voters decide our elections. At the RNC, we are winning these fights.

Since the start of 2025 alone, we have defeated an attempt by Democrats in New York City to allow 800,000 noncitizens to vote, sent our largest-ever records request to 48 states to ensure they are cleaning their voter rolls, and secured wins defending election integrity laws in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina from far-left attacks. We also are fighting in court in to uphold mail-in ballot safeguards in Pennsylvania.

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This work aligns closely with the SAVE America Act, the bill backed by President Trump that would establish nationwide protections to guarantee that only American citizens can vote in American elections. This legislation would codify commonsense policies supported by more than 80% of Americans, including voter ID and proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

While Republicans are fighting to get this bill passed, virtually every Democrat in Congress is fighting tooth-and-nail to block it.

If we want fair and secure elections, then Election Day should mean exactly what it says. With Watson, the RNC is arguing for enforcing the law, stopping the confusion of elections that drag on for weeks, and ensuring that only eligible votes are counted.

• Joe Gruters is chairman of the Republican National Committee.

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