Fact Check: Did US Supreme Court ban counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day?
WASHINGTON, DC: A claim about mail-in voting deadlines has sparked debate on social media. Several posts suggest that the US Supreme Court is preparing to strike down state laws that allow election officials to count mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day, November 3. The claim has raised questions about whether late-arriving ballots will still count and what rules voters should follow.
Claim: Supreme Court to strike down state laws allowing officials to count mail-in ballots
Several social media users claim that the Supreme Court plans to strike down state laws allowing officials to count mail-in ballots received after November 3.
An October 30 Facebook post by conservative commentator David J. Harris Jr. claimed that the Supreme Court had made a major move to invalidate these state laws.
The post featured a photograph of Justice Samuel Alito and suggested that he had written the alleged decision.
Harris also claimed that Alito had pointed out that there was a reason the election was called "Election Day."
The claim quickly spread across Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads and TikTok. Many posts highlighted Alito's name and suggested that the court was preparing to change the rules for counting mail-in ballots ahead of the important midterm elections, which could affect the balance of power in Washington.
The claim has also raised questions about its authenticity, particularly as President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the security of mail-in voting and claimed, without evidence, that it is vulnerable to fraud.
Fact Check: The claim is false
The claim is false. As of November 2, the US Supreme Court's website showed no new cases or published decisions about mail-in voting following its ruling in the Mississippi case. The court had also not issued any decision supporting the viral claim.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, states have different rules for receiving and counting mail-in ballots. Fifteen states allow election officials to count ballots that arrive after Election Day, provided voters postmarked them on or before November 3.
Mississippi has stricter rules on who can vote by mail. On October 26, the state reported that it had received 56,049 of the 64,031 mail-in ballots requested by voters ahead of Election Day.
The US Postal Service (USPS) advises voters to mail their ballots at least one week before their state's deadline. Voters who want to make sure the post office marks their ballot with the correct date can ask a staff member at a post office counter to stamp it by hand for free.
Washington state, which conducts elections entirely by mail, also advises voters to send their ballots as early as possible if they cannot use official drop boxes. The state accepts ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive later.
Similarly, on October 24, Oregon's Secretary of State advised voters who planned to mail their ballots less than a week before Election Day to visit a post office and request a hand postmark. This would help ensure election officials could verify when voters mailed their ballots.
