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Justice Samuel Alito emphasized the literal meaning of the word “day” as the Supreme Court heard arguments Monday about whether states can legally accept late-arriving ballots that are postmarked by Election Day.
“We have lots of phrases that involve two words, the last of which, the second of which is ‘day,’ Labor Day, Memorial Day, George Washington’s birthday, Independence Day, birthday and Election Day, and they’re all particular days,” Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said.
Alito added, “If we start with that, if I have nothing more to look at than the phrase ‘Election Day,’ I think this is the day in which everything is going to take place, or almost everything.”
The justice’s remarks came after the Republican National Committee sued over a Mississippi law that allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they are received five days after that day. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit sided with the RNC in the case in 2024, leading Mississippi to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in.
ELECTION INTEGRITY GROUPS PRESS SUPREME COURT TO REQUIRE BALLOTS BY ELECTION DAY
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito on Oct. 7, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alito was among multiple conservative justices on Monday who appeared skeptical of Mississippi’s law and intent on striking it down. A decision is expected by the summer and would likely affect more than a dozen states that accept postmarked ballots after Election Day.
While some of the justices seemed persuaded that Election Day should be viewed as a single and final day in an election cycle, Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, and Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, raised concerns that if the interpretation of Election Day was strictly upheld by the court, then early voting might also be affected.
“If ‘day’ includes a period after a particular day of the…
