The US Supreme Court on Monday voted 5-4 to uphold laws allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by election day to be counted even if they arrive after the official date.
The decision rejected a challenge from the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Trump administration, affirming the authority of states to set their own election procedures.
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Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Barrett wrote that federal election-day statutes do not require ballots to be received by election day, and that policy arguments about election integrity belong to legislatures, not courts.
The case, Watson v Republican National Committee, challenged a Mississippi law granting a five-day grace period for postmarked mail-in ballots to arrive.
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Justice Samuel Alito authored the dissenting opinion, arguing that election day is a single date and that extending ballot collection violates federal law.
Alito was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, and in part by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
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The ruling affects Mississippi, 13 other states, Washington DC, and three US territories.
