The U.S. Supreme Court is at the center of a legal battle over how mail-in ballots are handled — a dispute that experts say could have wide-ranging effects on future elections, including how votes are counted and how election laws are challenged in court.
What’s at Issue
At the heart of the controversy is a debate over whether states may count mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day so long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Dozens of states currently allow ballots to be counted even if they arrive days later, a practice that expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate voters.
