Opinion of the Court in Watson v. RNC
States Can Accept Mail Ballots After Election Day
The federal election-day statutes do not preempt Mississippi’s law. The defining element of an “election” — the term used in all three federal statutes — has always been the electorate’s choice of candidate. And a related federal statute, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), confirms that while federal law dictates when ballots must be cast, state law dictates when they must be received. As we have said before, the federal election-day statutes “simply regulate the time of the election.” — Foster v. Love (1997). The statute governing presidential elections provides that presidential electors “shall be appointed, in…
