In addition to California, Illinois and Mississippi, the other states that count regular mail ballots received after Election Day are Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
Data show that mail ballots are popular options in all 50 states among both Republican and Democratic voters.
Although the RNC was party to the case and not the Trump administration itself, national party committees of a sitting president’s party typically operate in concert with the president’s political strategies.
Calling Monday’s ruling “a tremendous loss,” Trump used it as a way to push his sweeping election law bill that has stalled on Capitol Hill despite Republican control in both chambers of Congress.
In a Truth Social post, the president declared it “more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” his name for legislation that would require voters nationally to document their US citizenship to register to vote, show certain photo identification to cast ballots and limit who can vote with a mail ballot.
RNC Chairman Joe Gruters issued a statement aligning with Trump, saying Monday’s ruling was justification to pass the congressional proposal.
Lower federal courts have issued rulings blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to impose new restrictions on mail ballots and to create a national voter list, among other proposed changes.
Judges in those cases have consistently said the Constitution vests authority for setting election rules with Congress and the states, not the president.
While Barrett framed Monday’s opinion on the narrower question of the mail ballot deadline, the decision could bolster hopes among Democrats that the high court will look sceptically on the president’s assertion of power over elections if other cases land before it.
Several voting rights advocates welcomed the ruling, saying they had feared the court might overturn long-standing rules on ballot deadlines.
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) President Derrick Johnson called it “a win for our democracy.”
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