California officials relieved as Supreme Court says states can count mail-in ballots after Election Day

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed down a decision in a case about mailed ballots in Mississippi that left California’s election officials breathing a sigh of relief.

Authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a 5-4 decision on June 29, the nation’s highest court said states that count mailed ballots for a certain time after the election, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day, can continue to do so. In California, ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at a local elections office up to seven days after voting has concluded are counted under present law.

Allowing mailed ballots to be counted after Election Day, Secretary of State Shirley Weber said, protects voters from being disenfranchised because of mail delays outside their control.

“Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision is a win for voters, for the rule of law and for the future of our democracy,” Weber said. “By rejecting efforts to shorten the vote-by-mail return window, the Court protected an important safeguard that helps ensure service members, overseas voters, Californians with disabilities and rural communities are not silenced by mail delays beyond their control.”

“This ruling makes one thing clear: Our elections belong to the people, not to partisan agendas,” she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, called the ruling a “win for voters, plain and simple.”

“California, like many states, utilizes vote-by-mail to increase participation in our democracy. Today’s ruling helps ensure mailed-in-ballots get counted and people’s voices are heard through the democratic process,” Newsom said.

The ruling stems from a case out of Mississippi, which pitted the state against the Trump administration and the Republican and Libertarian parties and raised the question of whether federal statute sets a single Election Day by which all ballots must be in the possession of election offices to count.

This means that, moving forward, Mississippi and other states that currently allow mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive at election offices after voting has ended can continue to do so, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. And that spares election officials from having to scramble just months ahead of the November midterms.

“Today’s decision recognizes a basic reality: Mail delays happen,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “When people vote by Election Day, their ballots should not be discarded because of those delays.”

“Since our nation’s founding, states have been primarily responsible for regulating elections, and we are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has respected that authority,” he said.

Sen. Alex Padilla, who previously served as California’s secretary of state, also hailed the court decision.

“Today’s decision is a victory for voting rights and a rejection of Trump’s attacks on mail and absentee voters,” Padilla said.

“Our democracy works best when as many eligible voters participate and when every eligible vote is counted,” he added. “For decades, Congress and states like California have worked to expand voting rights and access while keeping elections safe and secure — and that includes states exercising the right to accept eligible voters’ ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.”

“While we continue to see unprecedented efforts to interfere with elections from the Trump administration, it is a relief to see federal courts make clear that these attacks on mail and absentee voting are clearly illegal and unconstitutional,” Padilla added.

No midterm election scrambling

Local election officials also celebrated the high court’s ruling.

“Today’s decision affirms what Los Angeles County voters deserve: The assurance that a ballot cast by Election Day will be counted if received within the legal timeframe established in State Law,” L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said in a statement.

“The decision supports California voters’ preference for voting options that increase access and participation,” he added.

According to the L.A. County registrar’s office, 700,000 to 1 million vote-by-mail ballots are returned on or around Election Day in the county during statewide elections. With over 5.8 million registered voters, L.A. County is the largest voting jurisdiction in the country.

The L.A. registrar’s office, which reported that 74,287 ballots that arrived after June 2 were processed during the recent primary election, said Monday’s ruling provides certainty for voters and election administrators about how elections will be handled in the future.

In Orange County, nearly 18,000 ballots arrived via mail after Election Day, out of the more than 703,000 cast.

Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt, an expert on constitutional law, said he was not surprised the majority of Supreme Court justices ruled in favor of allowing states to continue deciding how long to accept mail ballots — though he called the 5-4 vote “deeply distressing” and said he had hoped more justices would join the majority.

Barrett was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the three liberal justices in the majority opinion.

“I think the arguments are pretty straightforward,” said Levitt, who worked at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration, where he focused on voting rights issues.

“This case all boils down to when Congress wrote the rules in the mid-19th century,” Levitt said. “Did Congress think what it was doing was telling states that they had to have all their ballots in by Election Day? … No, that’s not what Congress thought. Congress thought, ‘you’ve got to make your choice (as a voter) by Election Day.’”

While many of the states that accept late mail-in ballots lean Democratic — including Illinois, Massachusetts and New York — some Republican-controlled states, including Alaska and Texas, also allow it.

Trump’s continued calls for reforms

President Donald Trump has sought to end these grace periods, alleging without proof that late-arriving ballots have resulted in widespread election fraud.

Earlier this month, he again alleged, without citing evidence, that there was “big cheating” taking place in California and accused Democrats of “trying to steal” elections when gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, both Republicans, started seeing their leads slip away as more ballots were counted in the days following June 2.

Democratic voters in California tend to vote later, so later-arriving ballots tend to break for more progressive candidates — especially this year when voters were waiting to see if a frontrunner in the gubernatorial contest would emerge.

Although Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra ultimately overtook Hilton in the governor’s race, the Republican candidate remained in the top two spots, enough to advance to the general election.

Pratt, though, was bumped out of second place in his race by Democratic L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, whom the Associated Pressprojected would face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the general election instead of Pratt.

Trump on Monday morning called the Supreme Court’s decision a “tremendous loss” for voting rights and touted his SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and an ID to cast a ballot and would only allow mailed ballots in limited circumstances.

“There is no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against the above three requirements. There is only one reason to oppose — CHEATING,” Trump said.

Election safety debate remains

Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, said she respected the Supreme Court’s decision Monday — but stressed she believes in the need for voter ID policies.

“As we approach America’s 250th birthday, we must remain committed to protecting the integrity of our elections and strengthening Americans’ confidence in the electoral process,” Kim said. “Every eligible American should have a voice in our democracy. One American, one vote — that’s the promise of our republic. That is why I support voter ID and ensuring only Americans vote in our elections.”

California’s Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, celebrated the decision.

That included Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs the upper chamber’s elections committee, who said the court got it right.

“People vote in a wide variety of complex circumstances, and our democracy is strongest when we include their voices instead of rejecting them,” Wiener said.

And Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, said: “Republicans have spent years trying to convince Americans that counting every legal ballot is a problem. It isn’t. Accurate elections take time, and every ballot cast on time deserves to be counted. That’s what democracy looks like.”

During the hearing in the case, Justice Samuel Alito brought up the appearance of fraud in instances when “a big stash of ballots” that arrive late “radically flipped” an election.

Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart, who defended that state’s election law, noted that the Trump administration and plaintiffs in the case hadn’t submitted evidence of fraud resulting from late-arriving mail ballots.

Levitt said Monday’s court ruling was “a good decision for democracy and voting rights” but tempered his remarks by saying he does not expect it to end unproven claims about election fraud.

“There is no policy change that will put an end to conspiracy theories,” Levitt said. “Conspiracy theories are generated by people with an interest in furthering the conspiracy.”

“There is no reliable evidence that elections are being stolen on a statewide basis anywhere in the United States,” he continued. But, he added, “that hasn’t stopped the president from claiming otherwise.”

Hear more from California lawmakers

Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro: “Counting every vote is the very foundation of our democracy. It gives each eligible American an equal say in who represents them, regardless of money or status. This is a win for the American people and our democratic system.”

State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside: “I am relieved that a majority of the Supreme Court ruled that states can continue counting eligible vote-by-mail ballots after Election Day if state law allows it. The decision affirms states’ authority to administer their own elections and is a win for voters in California, where nearly 90% vote by mail.”

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena: “This is great news for American democracy. Trump and Republicans attempted to interfere in our elections. They failed. Mail-in voting is a safe, secure and reliable way for Americans to make their voices heard. This attempt to block the counting of legally cast mail-in ballots after Election Day — where they are valid under state law — undermines the democratic process. Every vote must count. I will never stop fighting to defend this right.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach: “While I’m heartened that the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision protected the mail-in voting process, it’s insane that four justices were ready to limit voting rights and ballot access. The next president must reform this court.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Monique Limón: “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court to uphold state election laws on mail-in ballots law is a win for California and democracy everywhere. California has built an election system designed to expand access while maintaining the highest standards of security and integrity. We remain committed to safeguarding the right of every eligible voter to participate in our democracy and ensuring that every valid ballot is counted.”

Rep. Dave Min, D-Irvine: “Somewhat relieved (and definitely shocked) that the Supreme Court held that mail in ballots arriving after Election Day should be counted. However, the fact that four (!) Justices ruled otherwise, against the clear language of the Constitution that leaves the ‘time, place, and manner’ of handling elections up to the states, is outrageous and clear evidence that we need to rein in this fundamentally corrupt, partisan and illegitimate Supreme Court. They are acting as an unelected arm of the GOP, not as impartial referees. Enough is enough.”

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, chair of the Assembly Elections Committee: “The Supreme Court made the right decision confirming that federal election-day statutes do not prevent states from counting vote-by-mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but received days after. Eligible voters who did everything the law required should not have their voices silenced because of mail processing changes or mail delays beyond their control. After more than 27 years administering elections, I know our responsibility is to count every eligible ballot – not create new barriers for voters. Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of voter enfranchisement.”

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas: “In California, we stand for empowering voters, safeguarding election integrity and making sure every eligible person can be part of the democratic process. This Supreme Court ruling affirms what California has long known: When a voter casts their ballot on time, it deserves to be counted. We will continue to fight for free and fair elections.”

Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Whittier: “This is a huge win for California and every state that believes YOUR vote should count.”

U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff: “The Supreme Court today upheld a century of allowing states to count ballots mailed by Election Day. Let’s be clear: This case was a brazen attempt by the Republican Party to undermine voters and make it harder for your voice to be heard. Their undemocratic playbook shows no signs of letting up. We must fight it at every turn.”

State Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana: “Today, the Supreme Court got it right. Every eligible citizen should have the opportunity to vote and the confidence that their ballot will be counted. California has long shown that voting can be both accessible and secure. We must continue protecting that standard against efforts to undermine participation. Through measures like SB 884, we are protecting Californians’ right to vote by keeping our elections secure, accessible and free from interference.”