| Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Watson v. RNC, which upheld Mississippi’s long-standing practice of counting mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day and received up to five days after, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene released the following statement:
“Today’s decision is a victory for Americans. Despite Republicans’ multi-pronged attacks against American citizens’ right to vote, the Supreme Court rejected the RNC’s shameful, cowardly attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters across the country. By affirming that a lawful ballot cast on time should be counted, the high court also acknowledged a proven truth of our current elections — mail-in voting is safe, secure, and legal.
“While we celebrate this victory, we are cognizant that Republicans are doing everything they can, not only to make it harder for citizens to vote, but to rig the election to remain in power. In the Courts, on the ground, and in Congress, Democrats will continue fighting back and we will prevail.”
Key Points on Mail-In Voting:
- Nearly one in three Americans — about 31%, or roughly 48 million voters — cast their ballots by mail in the 2024 general election. Even with grace periods in place, more than 100,000 ballots were rejected for arriving too late that year.
- Fourteen states (AK, CA, IL, MA, MD, MS, NV, NJ, NY, OR, TX, VA, WA, WV) plus Washington, D.C. and three U.S. territories currently count mail-in ballots that are postmarked by election day but arrive within a specific grace period after election day. Across the country, at least 784,578 mail-in ballots were received after Election Day in 2024.
- An additional seventeen states (AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, IN, IA, MI, MO, MT, NC, ND, OH, PA, RI, SC, UT) allow lawfully cast ballots of overseas military members and citizens if not received by election day.
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