Supreme Court hears case on counting late‑arriving mail ballots

The Supreme Court heard Watson v. RNC, a case on whether states may count ballots mailed by Election Day but received afterward. Justices questioned whether federal law permits counting ballots that arrive after Election Day, with several expressing skepticism about that practice. A decision for the challengers would require many states to change or end practices of counting postmarked but late ballots. That outcome would affect voting rules in more than a dozen states, including California and New York, and could invalidate otherwise timely mailed votes delayed in transit.