No Deadline. Endless Counting. No Trust.

The New York Times reported from the U.S. Supreme Court today that the Mississippi Elections Case would likely be overturned: Justices Appear Poised to Reject Mississippi Law on Late-Arriving Ballots.

Politico had a different headline: Supreme Court worries Trump's attack on late ballots could also threaten early voting.

Both showed how concerned the Left is about retaining provisions in numerous states that allow mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day to be counted and processed.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 17 states and territories, including California, Maryland, New York, and D.C., are overly generous in accepting mail-in ballots after Election Day.

In Illinois, ballots must be received up to 14 days after the election if postmarked on or before Election Day. Maryland and D.C. allow for a ten-day grace period.

Ultra-conservative Mississippi joined the cabal of 17 states during the COVID pandemic. It passed a law allowing absentee/mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive up to 5 business days after Election Day.

Our editorial, published after the November 2022 midterms,  decried this policy in the name of racial justice. These states have deviated from the 30 states - including liberal states such as Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont - that require mail-in ballots to be received by the close of polls on Election Day.

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard a challenge against the Mississippi law. In Watson v. Republican National Committee, Mississippi argued that the law was reasonable and did not violate federal law. The challengers, however, maintained that federal law preempts state "grace periods" for late-arriving mail ballots, requiring election officials to receive those ballots on or before Election Day.

The idea of postmarked mail has a tradition of acceptance by government agencies. Tax returns must be postmarked before 11:59 p.m. on April 15. It is customary for postal employees to stand at mailboxes on April 15 to postmark these returns, so taxpayers are assured their returns were accepted before the deadline.

However, ballots are not tax returns. Taxpayers do not particularly care when their returns are processed; voters do. We want the results announced the same night, and not have the winner flipped after counting late-arriving mail-in ballots.

In the 2020 election, President Trump was leading on election night, with states having counted both early votes and election-day ballots. However, as the results of late mail-in ballots trickled in, three states that were too close to call gradually turned away from Trump. Joseph Biden won the presidency by a narrow 44,000-vote victory in those three states - Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.

The oral arguments produced interesting remarks from all sides.

Paul D. Clement, arguing for the challengers, including the Republican National Committee, raised points we have made in our editorials over the years, including the one that universal mail-in voting and lenient ballot-processing laws threaten election integrity.

"All agree that elections for federal office have to end on the day of the election specified by Congress, and all agree that you can't have an election unless you receive ballots, and there must be some deadline for ballot receipt. Nonetheless, Mississippi insists that ballots can trickle in days or even weeks after Election Day. That position is wrong as a matter of text, precedent, history, and common sense."

Mississippi Solicitor General Scott G. Stewart (arguing for the petitioner) stated that "The Election Day statutes adopt a simple rule: States must make a final choice of officers by Election Day. That is the plain meaning of an election." In effect, he was saying that state rules trump federal election laws, and the liberal justices repeatedly agreed with him.

Justice Samuel Alito echoed our concerns about election integrity when he said: "Confidence in election outcomes can be seriously undermined if the apparent outcome of the election on the day after the polls close is radically flipped by the acceptance, later, of a big stash of ballots."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with Justice Alito: "If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late-arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode."

Chief Justice John Roberts (probing the implications) said: "If Election Day is the voting and taking, then it has to be that day."

Justice Amy Coney Barrett (pressing on historical practices and early voting) challenged the idea that receipt/counting could extend beyond Election Day without issue, highlighting that past processes completed verification and acceptance on Election Day.

Justice Elena Kagan made an academic point appropriate for a law school class: "How is it that you're not taking issue with early voting?... When I early vote, I'm not doing that [casting and receiving on Election Day]." The point did not make sense because ballots received before Election Day would still get counted on Election Day. The case concerned only ballots that arrived after Election Day.

The conservative justices appeared particularly skeptical of the grace period, focusing on the need for a single, final Election Day to preserve trust and avoid post-election flips or perceptions of fraud. Liberal justices pushed back on potential disenfranchisement and consistency with other voting practices. The full transcript is available on the Supreme Court's website for deeper reading.

A decision is expected in June or early July, in time to affect the 2026 elections.

Why 2026 Could Be The Most Dangerous And Transformational Year Since World War II—Victor Davis Hanson, The Daily Signal

Biden CIA Warned About ‘Traditional Motherhood’ And ‘Homemaking’ As White Extremist Tactics—Tyler O'Neil, The Daily Signal

How The Media Erased Obama’s Damning Benghazi Confession To Re-Elect Him— Drew Allen, The Daily Signal

4 Big Takeaways From Tulsi Gabbard’s Testimony On Capitol Hill—Pedro Rodriguez, The Daily Signal

Understanding The Overton Window—Don Stacy II, Mises Wire

Hyperinflating The Goat— Ian Foster, Mises Wire

No, We Cannot “Afford” This War With Iran Either—Connor O'Keeffe, Mises Wire

The “Right To Roam” Is Not A Right. It’s A State-Issued Trespass Permit—Thiago V. S. Coelho, Mises Wire

Congressman Asks Trump To Press China To Release Prisoners—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal

For Iran, Hegseth Wants Billions From Congress. Can He Get It?— George Caldwell, The Daily Signal

Fulton County Numbers Don’t Match After FBI Seizure—Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal

California’s ‘Butterfly’ Bridge Fiasco Exposes Blue State Dysfunction—Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal

The End Is Nigh For The Department Of Education—Madison Marino Doan & Jonathan Butcher, The Daily Signal

‘ROAD MAP’ TO PROSECUTE ANTIFA: Texas ICE Riot Convictions Help Trump Counterterror Strategy—Tyler O'Neil, The Daily Signal

‘Very Personal’: GOP Pushing For Dalilah’s Law Vote On House Floor Soon—Virginia Grace McKinnon, The Daily Signal

Noem Hails ‘Promise We Delivered’ Following 10 Months Of No Illegal Alien Border Releases—Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal

Americans, Learn From The UK’s Grooming Gang Scandal— Peter McIlvenna, The Daily Signal

Ohio GOP House Candidate Scores Big Endorsement—Rebecca Downs, The Daily Signal

Remembering Paul Ehrlich (Even If We Would Rather Not)—William L. Anderson, Mises Wire

📊 Market Mood — Tuesday, March 24, 2026

🟩 Stocks Hold Gains Despite Rising Tensions
U.S. markets showed resilience after a prior-session rally, even as Middle East risks remained elevated.

🟧 Oil Climbs as Conflict Expands Across Region
Crude moved back above $100 as fresh strikes and potential regional escalation threatened supply flows.

🟦 Markets Caught Between Hope and Escalation Risks
Conflicting signals on ceasefire prospects kept volatility high and investor sentiment cautious.

🟨 PMI Data in Focus for Economic Impact Signals
Investors await early business activity data for clues on how the war is affecting growth and inflation.

🗓️ Key Economic Events — Tuesday, March 24, 2026

🟧 09:45 ET — S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Mar)
Flash reading on factory activity, offering an early signal of business demand and production trends.

🟧 09:45 ET — S&P Global Services PMI (Mar)
Survey-based measure of services sector activity, a key indicator of overall economic momentum.