How Mississippi reacted to the Supreme Court mail-in ballot ruling

• The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day if postmarked by that date.
• The 5-4 decision was a setback for former President Donald Trump and the Mississippi Republican Party, who challenged the law.
• Mississippi's Republican governor and other state politicians criticized the ruling and called for the state legislature to change the law.
• The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus praised the decision, stating it prevents the disenfranchisement of voters due to postal delays.

In a rare move out of lockstep with President Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday backed Mississippi's law allowing mail-in ballots to be received after Election Day.

Mississippi has a five-day grace period for mailed ballots, meaning they will be counted up to five days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by the date itself. The Mississippi Republican Party led a challenge to the state's law in 2024, gaining the support of the Trump administration along the way, seeking to count only ballots received by Election Day.

Trump promised last year to end the use of mail-in ballots by the midterm elections in November 2026. The Supreme Court decision posed a major blow to that goal.

The Republican challenge to the grace period law originally found a favorable ruling in a lower court, which ruled that the state's practices were inconsistent with the timing laid out in national statutes for federal elections. On appeal, the nation's highest court overturn the previous ruling in a narrow 5-4 decision. Conservative justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined the three liberal justices in the majority.

Mississippi politicians and candidates for state office took to social media in the wake of the decision, largely criticizing the Court's ruling and urging state level change in the coming legislative session.

"But just because the Court ruled the practice constitutional doesn’t mean we should allow it in our state," Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on X. "Next session, I call on the Mississippi Legislature to repeal the COVID-era law and require mail-in ballots to be received by the clerk by 5:00pm on Election Day in order to be counted."

Reeves has the power to call a special session for any reason, although he didn't make any mention of doing so to change the law before the midterm elections in November. He confirmed to reporters in late June that he "wouldn't be surprised" if he called a special session to navigate redistricting before the Legislature convenes in January.

Shuwaski Young, a Republican candidate for Secretary of State, echoed Reeves' calls and went a step further, adding that mail-in voting should remain restricted in the state.

"Election Day should mean exactly that — Election Day," Young wrote in a statement. "Every legal vote should be cast, received, and counted by the close of Election Day. The longer ballots continue to arrive after the polls close, the more public confidence in our elections is tested."

Mississippi Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, similarly took to X to express his disappointment with the ruling.

"Bad decision today for election integrity from [the Supreme Court]," Sparks wrote. "Hopes were striking down the MS law would also stop the endless counting of mailed out ballots in states like California. This one is frustrating."

Sparks is a candidate for state auditor, but he still has another year to serve in the state Senate before that election. It is unclear whether he plans to introduce or pursue legislation to revise Mississippi's current law.

Trump also took to social media to weigh in after the opinion was published.

"In light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning Voter’s Rights, and the fact that “people’s” votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over, it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In contrast, the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus celebrated the court's ruling in a statement. The court rejected "an effort that would have disenfranchised lawfully registered voters across our state," the group wrote.

"Had the challenge succeeded, countless Mississippians who complied with every legal requirement could have seen their votes discarded simply because of postal delays outside of their control," the statement reads. "Voters should not be penalized because they are serving in the military, living in rural communities, elderly, disabled, or otherwise dependent upon absentee voting."

Despite the Monday ruling, the caucus wrote, legislators "remain deeply concerned about the continuing attacks on voting rights" across the country. The Supreme Court in May issued a ruling that prohibited the consideration of race when drawing voting districts, which members of the caucus characterized as gutting the Voting Rights Act.

Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at [email protected].