What is “Election Day”? The Supreme Court Decides in RNC v. WatsonBy Justin Riemer, President, USGI, and Marshal Trigg, Junior Counsel, USGI
Last week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Republican National Committee v. Watson, teeing up a pivotal question about federal election law: Does federal law require mail-in ballots to be received by Election Day, or only marked and submitted by that date?
At stake is Mississippi’s practice—shared by 15 other states and D.C.—of counting ballots that arrive after Election Day so long as they were mailed on or before that date. Mississippi’s statute, adopted as a temporary COVID-era accommodation and later made permanent, allows ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received within five business days afterward.
The case centers on the interpretation of three federal statutes—2 U.S.C. § 7, 2 U.S.C. § 1, and 3 U.S.C. § 1—which set a specific “election day” designated on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every even numbered year.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the RNC and Judicial Watch (suing on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi) that the state law violates these federal statutes. They read these provisions strictly: “the election” occurs on a single day, and federal law requires that all votes be cast—meaning received—on that day. In essence, the ballot box is closed. Allowing ballots to arrive days later, they argue, effectively extends “the election” beyond the date Congress prescribed.
The State of Mississippi and intervenors counter that the “election day” refers to the date ballots must be cast, and define “casting” a ballot as the voter’s act of marking and submitting it, not its physical receipt by election officials.
Whatever one thinks of the RNC’s ultimate chances of success, the argument is far from frivolous (or “bonkers”). The statutory text, lacking any definitions, is genuinely ambiguous, and the plaintiffs have identified a plausible reading that deserves careful consideration.
For decades, election law has been shaped by aggressive legal theories advanced primarily by progressive litigants and advocacy groups. Consider the recent resurrection of the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, a law aimed at preventing literacy tests for voter registration, but that progressive groups have now invoked to challenge state requirements for witness signatures, dates on ballot envelopes, and other administrative prerequisites. Such theories, once novel, have gained traction in certain jurisdictions.
Litigants cannot be faulted for advancing interpretations they believe are compelled by statutory text, even when those interpretations challenge conventional wisdom. That’s precisely what the adversarial system is designed to do: test the boundaries of legal doctrine and force courts to grapple with ambiguities in the law. The RNC’s arguments may be aggressive, but they’re grounded in a plausible reading of federal statutes that many judges take seriously, including obviously the Supreme Court justices since they agreed to hear the case.
Further, the concerns about extended receipt deadlines are substantial. They can delay results, create windows where chain-of-custody becomes more difficult to monitor, and complicate post-election litigation. When races are close and ballots continue arriving for days, opportunities for confusion increase and public confidence can erode. The longer ballots remain in transit or in the custody of the postal system, the more difficult it becomes to maintain the kind of tight security protocols that build public trust. (Not surprisingly, a recent poll released by Honest Elections Project found that 89% of registered voters believe that every ballot should be received by Election Day).
And the impacts of election day delivery deadlines are almost certainly exaggerated. Estimates on the numbers of ballot rejections should the grace period end assume voters won’t adjust to an earlier deadline. Even if Mississippi prevails at the Supreme Court, states should strongly consider moving to an Election Day receipt deadline. Ohio appears poised to do so, with its legislature sending such a bill to Governor DeWine’s office this week. Kansas, Utah, and North Dakota also enacted legislation this year to move to an Election Day deadline.
Ballotpedia reports that twenty-three states have amended their absentee/mail-in voting laws so far this year, including Maine which adopted three bills modifying their policies. Ballotpedia reports that twenty-three states have amended their absentee/mail-in voting laws so far this year, including Maine which adopted three bills modifying their policies.
Alaska
Anchorage city officials (paywall) have clarified that rather than a brand-new “vote-by-phone” experiment, they will be offering a document portal that lets preapproved voters (like those overseas or isolated) submit their ballots electronically. Election leaders say nothing is changing for the 2026 municipal election. In the April 2025 municipal election, about 136 out of more than 60,000 ballots were submitted via that portal. Applications to use the portal must be submitted before Election Day, and once submitted, voters receive a PIN to submit their completed ballot online.
Arizona
Maricopa County election officials discovered 2,288 ballots misplaced after Election Day that were left in sealed transport boxes in a drop box by mistake. A bipartisan team secured the boxes, verified signatures, and began processing the ballots for counting. Almost all of the ballots were ultimately counted, though 30 required “curing” and 16 were not counted due to unverifiable signatures or unreachable voters.
Colorado
The office announced a public meeting to establish the random seed for the state’s risk-limiting audit software tied to the November 4 general election, fulfilling requirements under Election Rule 25.2.2(i). The Department of State announced that counties began the formal tabulation of ballots from the November 4 Coordinated Election on Tuesday, November 18. The bulletin noted that under state rules the official results cannot be certified until the risk-limiting audit process (including public random seed generation and hand count audits) is complete.
Connecticut
Secretary of State Thomas addressed a set of issues on Election Day tied to the deployment of new voting tabulation machines across the state. The state rolled out these new tabulators ahead of the municipal elections, and while many precincts reported smooth operations, some towns encountered delays – specifically due to machine malfunctions, programming challenges, or problems reading ballots.
Election officials will conduct a post-election audit of 32 precincts to check the accuracy of machine tabulations using manually reviewed ballots. The precincts were randomly selected in accordance with state law to ensure independent verification of results after widespread deployment of new electronic vote tabulators. The University of Connecticut’s Center for Voting Technology Research will analyze the audit results, including memory cards from the machines.
Georgia
Lawmakers are debating a switch back from ballot-marking devices (BMDs) to hand-marked paper ballots ahead of the 2026 elections. The state would need about $66 million to buy new printers, scanners, and other equipment, and election officials say they’d need at least six months to implement the change.
Idaho
About 300 legally cast ballots in Elmore County were never counted in the November 4 election, prompting a state level investigation. The discrepancy was discovered when the number of voters checked in didn’t match the number of ballots tallied. Election officials say there’s no sign of foul play as the ballots exist and are being secured, but they’re launching a full hand count and a review of processes to find what went wrong.
Iowa
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction of Kim Phuong Taylor of Sioux City, who in 2023 was found guilty on 52 counts of voter fraud after a jury trial. Prosecutors said she illegally filled out election documents and ballots on behalf of members of the Vietnamese community to benefit her husband’s 2020 campaigns. In April 2024, Taylor was sentenced to four months in prison and four months of home confinement; the appellate court found the evidence sufficient and affirmed the jury instructions were proper.
Maryland
Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) and American Accountability Foundation (AAF) have demanded that Prince George’s County provide unredacted copies of Ian Andre Roberts’ voter registration records. Roberts was recently arrested by ICE and indicted for falsely claiming he was a U.S. citizen who was eligible to work. He had been serving as School Superintendent of Des Moines, Iowa.
Massachusetts
In Cambridge’s recent municipal election, more than 5,300 ballots were not counted on Election Day, and a counting error was traced to “test deck” data that was never cleared from the tabulation system. Because of that, the unofficial result initially declared one candidate the winner, but after correction, the lead flipped. The error was discovered during a postelection audit, and there’s a possibility of a full hand recount.
Michigan
More than three dozen absentee ballots (37) from Hamtramck won’t be counted after the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked over concerns they’d been compromised.
State Republicans are asking the U.S. DOJ to monitor the state’s 2026 elections because they argue Secretary of State Benson’s gubernatorial run while overseeing the election.
Mike Rogers, the 2024 Republican Senate candidate, is now asserting that a van full of ballots “showed up” in Detroit early in the morning after Election Day and “swung” the outcome against him.
In Hamtramck’s tight mayoral race, 37 absentee ballots were found after Election Day in the city clerk’s office; they had been opened but never counted. City Clerk Rana Faraj told the Wayne County Board of Canvassers that 37 absentee ballots went uncounted on election night because they were misplaced.
Mississippi
In Jackson County, the local election commission is asking voters who received mailed “information cards” to fill them out and return them promptly as those cards are used to verify whether a voter has moved from the address on file. The county estimates it sent about 16,000 such cards and says those failing to respond risk being placed in “inactive” status, meaning they won’t appear in the regular pollbook and may need to vote via affidavit. Changes to voter rolls cannot be processed within 90 days of an election, with a deadline of December 10 for this cycle.
Montana
Voters who failed to write their birth year on absentee ballot envelopes under a new state law still faced thousands of rejections even though local election officials offered the chance to fix errors through calls, emails or mailed notices.
Nevada
Washoe County election officials moved about 31,000 voter registrations from “active” to “inactive” status after a review found the voters had not responded to verification notices or participated in recent elections. Some civic groups had criticized the county in the past for delayed roll maintenance, and the change marks a new level of cooperation between election officials and outside watchdogs.
New York
A report found that New York City agencies failed to offer voter registration forms in 84% of client interactions, violating the city’s “ProVoter” law. Many agency staff don’t receive regular training on registration law and translated registration forms are often not provided to non-English speaking clients.
North Carolina
The State Board of Elections is undergoing a major leadership shakeup, with five new appointments and two internal promotions effective November 1.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson, says the NC DMV improperly registered six noncitizens to vote. In some cases, DMV employees incorrectly marked people as citizens, and in others there was a “system error.” The noncitizens say they had no idea they were registered; many believed they were simply signing a form as part of getting a driver’s license. According to the DMV, its own investigation found “no systemic issues,” and the agency said it plans to improve by providing extra training to its examiners.
Ohio
Secretary of State LaRose launched “Eva,” an AI-powered virtual assistant for election officials that’s trained only on Ohio’s Election Official Manual and the annual election calendar. The goal is to streamline election administration, reduce confusion, and improve efficiency by giving officials an always-available “wonky but reliable” help tool.
Lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 293, which eliminates the “grace period” for absentee ballots – meaning only ballots received by the close of polls on Election Day will be counted, removing the previous post-election window.
Pennsylvania
Fallout continues from Chester County’s poll book printing error during the November 4 election. The County Commission has been deliberating over 1,400 provisional ballots that procedural errors and has hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation.
More than 200 municipal races in Westmoreland County ended in a dead tie. The county election board will break the ties using a method called “casting of lots.” The tiebreaker drawings are scheduled to happen on November 24.
The Berks County Board of Elections referred two serious election day complaints to the district attorney for investigation.
In Lackawanna County, a judge of elections and her son were charged with election-fraud related crimes after investigators found multiple ballots had the judge’s name written in the space for “judge of elections” before the ballots were handed to voters.
South Carolina
Law enforcement has launched an investigation into some poll managers in Spartanburg County for possible conflicts of interest. Officials say the county’s Poll Managers Handbook prohibits poll workers from being a candidate — or closely related to one (spouse, parent, sibling, etc.) — at a precinct where that candidate is on the ballot. The workers connected to the allegations have been removed from their roles for now and could be terminated depending on the investigation outcome.
Texas
Texas counties are grappling with ballot errors following the rollout of the newly overhauled TEAM (Texas Election Administration Management) system during the November 4 election. In some precincts, the system mis-assigned voters to sub precincts created by TEAM, which caused people to either lose access to certain ballot issues or be able to vote on issues where they shouldn’t have. County officials say these problems stemmed from an “unready” system launch and are now planning to clean up precinct boundaries and ranges before the next election.
Utah
A judge in Utah indicated she will issue a ruling “on or before” November 10 regarding a new congressional map drawn by the state Legislature. The Legislature’s map, approved after the previous map was struck down, is being challenged by the League of Women Voters of Utah and other groups who argue the redrawing still improperly favors Republicans. The outcome is critical because the new map must be in place for candidate filings ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Wyoming
A Weston County Clerk has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge for failing to appear at a September legislative subcommittee hearing. The subpoena was part of an investigation into ballot printing errors and vote miscounts during the November 2024 election. If convicted, the clerk could face up to six months in jail and a $100 fine.
Wisconsin
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann (a GOP candidate for governor) has laid out a “Secure Elections Agenda” that calls for dissolving the state’s Elections Commission and transferring its duties to a single elected official. He also wants to eliminate drop boxes, stop using central count facilities (so ballots are counted where they’re cast), and move all statewide elections to November. As part of his plan, he proposes cleaning up voter rolls to remove inactive or ineligible registrations.
Arkansas
League of Women Voters of Arkansas v. Jester, No. 5:25-cv-05087 (W.D. Ark.)
On November 19, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of several recently enacted Arkansas laws that regulate citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendum signature-gathering.
California
Tangipa v. Newsom, No. 2:25-cv-10616 (C.D. Cal.)
On November 17, DOJ filed a complaint in intervention against Governor Newsom and California Secretary of State Weber, joining a Republican challenge to the state’s newly adopted congressional-districting plan enacted via California Proposition 50. The complaint alleges that the map was drawn with race as a predominant factor, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. DOJ’s motion to intervene was granted on November 14.
Maryland
League of Women Voters of the United States v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, No. 8:25-cv-03777 (D. Md.)
On November 18, the League of Women Voters (LWV), along with five state/local Leagues, filed a federal lawsuit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other federal officials over a new rule that bars nongovernmental civic groups from providing voter registration and civic engagement services to new U.S. citizens at administrative naturalization ceremonies.
New Jersey
Republican National Committee v. Way, No. 2:25-cv-17612 (D.N.J.)
On November 17, the RNC filed suit in federal court alleging that New Jersey Secretary of State Way failed to comply with the public disclosure requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The RNC claims that, despite submitting 18 separate records requests, the state refused to produce documents showing how ineligible voters are removed from the rolls.
Mississippi
Republican National Committee v. Watson, No. 1:24-cv-00025 (S.D. Miss.)
On November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether federal election law requires ballots in federal elections to be received by officials by Election Day. This lawsuit challenges a Mississippi law that allows ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five business days later.
Missouri
League of Women Voters of Missouri v. State, No. 22AC-CC04333 (Mo. Cir. Ct. Cole Cnty. Div. I)
On November 19, the Missouri Supreme Court heard consolidated appeals challenging two central provisions of a 2022 law: (1) a strict photo-ID requirement for voters, and (2) a ban on paid voter-registration solicitors and other restrictions on voter-registration campaigns.
New York
Clark v. Town of Newburgh, No. EF002460-2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Orange Cnty.)
On November 20, New York’s highest state court rejected the Town of Newburgh’s constitutional challenge to the vote dilution provision of the New York Voting Rights Act. Newburgh argued that the provision violated the Equal Protection Clause because it compelled jurisdictions to consider race. The court declined to reach the merits, holding instead that a New York municipality does not have the ability to mount a facial constitutional challenge.
Texas
Jolt Initiative v. Paxton, No. 1:25-cv-01808 (W.D. Tex.)
On November 11, Jolt Initiative filed suit in federal court challenging Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bid to revoke its corporate charter. This follows a lawsuit brought last month by Paxton against Jolt, in which he accused Jolt of orchestrating “a systematic, unlawful voter registration scheme.”
Jolt denies the claims, calling the lawsuit “retaliatory” and a threat to its mission of civic engagement, saying Paxton is misusing his authority. The case raises broader questions about the intersection of nonprofit voter outreach, eligibility verification, and political motivations in voter registration oversight.
League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott, No. 3:21-cv-00259 (W.D. Tex.)
On November 18, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction blocking the use of Texas’s newly adopted congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections. The court held that plaintiffs were likely to prove that the map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The following day, Judge Smith separately filed a fiery dissenting opinion accusing the majority of “pernicious judicial misbehavior.”
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, along with nine other Democratic Secretaries of State, sent a letter to the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) demanding clarity on the federal collection and potential sharing of state voter roll data. The letter asks for specifics on data sharing, adherence to proper transfer protocols, and assurances regarding voter data use. Signatories include Secretaries from Colorado, Arizona, California, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
Bob Bauer outlines the high-stakes implications of the upcoming Supreme Court decision on mail-in voting return deadlines, noting how it could reshape federal and state authority on absentee-ballot deadlines, chain-of-custody requirements, and the balance between voter access and election integrity. Key arguments include the potential broadening of federal oversight into election administration and the risk that overly rigid standards might undermine ballot access for vulnerable populations.
Ken Blackwell argues that election officials should modernize voter roll maintenance by incorporating commercially available identity- and address-verification tools, rather than relying solely on outdated government databases. He contends that commercial data can more accurately flag outdated or duplicate registrations, reduce undeliverable election mail, and strengthen confidence in list accuracy heading into 2026.
In a recent podcast, Hans von Spakovsky is joined by former FEC Chairman Allen Dickerson to analyze the upcoming Supreme Court case NRSC v. FEC, which could reshape how major political parties coordinate expenditures with candidates. Additionally, the hosts review the 1958 political drama film The Last Hurrah in their regular “movie review” segment, drawing parallels between its themes and modern electoral dynamics.
At the Texas Tribune Festival, a panel featuring Nobel laureate Eric Maskin and former Senator Joe Manchin highlighted Condorcet Voting, which the group Better Choices is calling Consensus Choice Voting for public communication. The system determines a winner by head-to-head comparisons, ensuring the candidate preferred by a majority over each other candidate is elected, unlike plurality-winner or Instant Runoff Voting. Manchin publicly embraced Consensus Choice Voting as a superior alternative to current methods, calling it “RCV 2.0” and emphasizing its potential to reduce partisan polarization and better reflect the will of the voters. Foley notes this marks a milestone in bringing Condorcet Voting into public discourse, with Manchin potentially serving as a high-profile advocate for its adoption in congressional elections.
The MIT Election Data + Science Lab (MEDSL) is offering $500,000 in grants to support research aimed at improving the security, accuracy, and accessibility of voter registration systems and list maintenance practices. The program seeks projects that provide practical, quickly implementable solutions, improve understanding of current voter registration operations, and equip policymakers and election officials with reliable information. Strong partnerships with election practitioners are encouraged to align research goals with real-world needs. Interested applicants may submit a brief letter of intent by December 15, 2025, with full proposals due January 16, 2026.
The Election Law Navigator, a new free online tool from William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts, centralizes state election statutes, regulations, and advisory opinions from all 50 states. Designed for judges, lawyers, election officials, the media, and the public, it allows users to efficiently navigate complex election laws with over 30,000 documents available. The tool uses a human-checked AI model to organize content by topic, offers state-to-state comparisons, and features 100+ election-specific tags for quick access.
Michael Morley examines the “Materiality Provision” in the Civil Rights Act, used to challenge state election laws when minor errors or omissions affect voter registration, and argues that while the provision was designed to prevent disenfranchisement from trivial mistakes, it may be misapplied to block states from requiring essential eligibility verification. He suggests the provision should apply only when a state is assessing whether someone meets voting qualifications, but not when the state undertakes standard integrity checks like verifying identity.
Some states vest a single “chief election official” with broad authority over voter registration, ballot access, election certification, and voting equipment. According to law professor John Marin, this concentration of power can create a critical vulnerability for partisan interference in elections. Experts suggest stronger accountability mechanisms to insulate partisan manipulation, like transparent rulemaking and oversight, are needed to prevent problems before they occur, rather than relying solely on lawsuits after the fact.
Researchers from VotingWorks are working on a prototype terminal (funded by DARPA) that would let service members cast a signed, encrypted digital ballot, and also produce a paper ballot for auditing. The terminal would authenticate voters via their Common Access Card (CAC). This is still in pilot/prototype phase.
According to the 2024 EAC Annual Report, the agency is continuing to coordinate with the War Department’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) to collect data on military and overseas voting. The 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), which includes questions on military/overseas voting, is being used to improve understanding of these voters’ patterns and challenges. In May 2025, the EAC issued a Military Appreciation Month statement reaffirming their commitment to supporting military voters and underlining that helping overseas and uniformed voters remains a priority.