The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that states with laws that allow late-arriving mail ballots, including Nevada, can continue counting them in future elections.

In a 5-4 decision that had potential to affect November’s midterms, the high court upheld a Mississippi law that lets mail votes be counted up to five days after Election Day.

Nevada allows ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be accepted for up to four days after the election. Mail returned without a legible postmark is accepted for up to three days.

“Nevada’s elections will not change — we will continue to run safe, secure and accessible elections this year without the interference and intimidation of the federal government,” said Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar in a statement.

The Supreme Court case originated in Mississippi, where the Republican National Committee, Mississippi Republican Party and the state’s Libertarian Party sued the state. Plaintiffs argued that the laws undermine trust and confidence in the election process. Their position centered around federal statutes that set a uniform Election Day.

President Donald Trump, who issued a 2025 executive order that called for an Election Day counting deadline, called the ruling a “tremendous loss” for voter rights.

In a statement, Gov. Joe Lombardo said he agreed with the court’s ruling and called for legislative changes in Nevada.

“Today’s ruling from the Supreme Court reaffirms my stance that states should determine how their own elections are conducted, but there is still a need to enhance transparency and security in Nevada’s elections,” the governor said in a statement. “I fully support the Voter ID ballot measure and will work to ensure our election laws reflect a simple, common-sense principle: Election Day should mean the end of voting, and ballots should be received by Election Day so the results are timely, secure, and trusted by the public.”

Nevada officials react

Attorney General Aaron Ford had signed Nevada onto a Supreme Court amicus brief in support of Mississippi, which argued that establishing an Election Day deadline could lead to a flood of litigation related to ballots that were cast on time but had delayed arrivals.

“Nevada’s elections are free, fair and safe, and Nevadans benefit from a range of choices in how to cast their vote — mail ballots included,” he said in a Monday statement. “Our state has made it clear that we believe our citizens deserve to cast their ballots in the way that is easiest for them, and today’s decision ensures that Nevadans who cast their mail ballot by Election Day will have their legal votes counted.”

Aguilar, Nevada’s chief election officer, earlier said that the state was preparing for the possibility that the high court would issue an opinion reversing the Nevada law. And, he said, recent elections had not seen a high volume of late-arriving ballots. In the 2024 general election, for example, under 10 had arrived by the fourth day after Election Day, he said in April.

Justices split vote

Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, both conservatives, joined the three liberal justices in the majority ruling.

“When voting on different days in different states sparked allegations of fraud, Congress set a nationally uniform deadline for voting,” Barrett wrote in the majority opinion. “If varied deadlines for ballot receipt similarly call for a national solution, the American people must choose it through their elected representatives.”

She wrote that about 30 states accept at least some absentee ballots sent by Election Day to be counted afterward.

“Although the election-day statutes refer to a particular ‘day’ for the election, plaintiffs do not contend that everything must occur on that day,” Barrett said.

Justice Samuel Alito penned the dissenting opinion.

“If ballots received after Election Day are added to the set of ballots that dictate the election’s outcome, the electorate’s choice does not occur on election day, and the federal election-day statutes are violated,” he wrote.

Call for voter ID law renewed

After the ruling, Trump repeated his demand for senators to pass the Save America Act, a bill that would require voters to present a photo ID, proof of citizenship and outlaw most mail voting.

“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 wrote on Truth Social. “The House of Representatives has approved this vital Act, THREE TIMES. The United States Senate seems unable to do so.”

The Repair the Vote PAC, which is leading a ballot initiative in Nevada to institute voter ID requirements, supports an Election Day deadline.

“This decision makes passing Question 7 even more important, as we must have verification that every ballot that is mailed in was sent in by a legally registered Nevada voter, regardless of when it was received,” said PAC Chairman David Gibbs in a statement, “but especially for those received after the polls have closed.”

Democratic senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision, adding that Nevada’s elections already are safe and secure.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision preserves that right so that Americans can continue to make their voices heard in the democratic process,” Cortez Masto wrote on X. “This administration will continue to lose in court as it tries to illegally control our elections.”

Added Rosen in her own post: “All eligible voters have a right to make their voice heard, and Trump won’t get away with his attacks on Americans’ voting rights.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.