{"slug": "supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led", "title": "Supreme Court rules states can count late-arriving mailed ballots, rejecting Trump-led challenge", "summary": "The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day, rejecting a challenge backed by President Donald Trump. The decision upholds laws in over half the states and D.C. that allow late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day, sparing officials from changing rules before the 2026 midterms. The challenge was part of Trump's broader attack on mail voting, which he has falsely claimed breeds fraud.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...**By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press**\n\nWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day, a persistent target of President Donald Trump.\n\nThe 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.\n\nIn just over half those states, the more forgiving deadlines apply only to ballots cast by military and overseas voters.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/29/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-trump-led-challenge-2/", "published_at": "2026-06-29 14:08:08+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-29 14:20:56.741457+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Supreme Court", "Donald Trump", "Joe Biden", "Mississippi", "Republican Party", "Libertarian Party", "Associated Press", "Mark Sherman"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/supreme-court-rules-states-can-count-late-arriving-mailed-ballots-rejecting-led.jsonld"}}