Americans have had their mail-in ballots counted after Election Day for generations − a Supreme Court ruling could end the practice

An active service member used this election war ballot cover to mail in a vote in the 1944 presidential election. National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution

What is an election and when is it completed?

That’s the legal question at the heart of Watson v. Republican National Committee, the mail-in ballot case the U.S. Supreme Court took up in November 2025. The court will most likely hand down a ruling before the midterm elections in 2026.