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Watson v. Republican National Committee

United States Supreme Court
No. 24-1260, slip op. (2026)

Written by Jamie Milne, JD

Facts

Three federal election-day statutes established that congressional representatives, senators, and the president were to be elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Mississippi allowed certain residents, including senior citizens and college students living away from home, to vote in federal elections using absentee ballots sent by mail. A Mississippi law stated that an absentee ballot would be counted if it was postmarked by election day and received by the state registrar no more than five days after election day. In 2024, the Republican National Committee and others (plaintiffs) sued Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (defendant). They argued that the word “election” in the federal statutes referred to both ballot casting and ballot receipt and the statutes therefore preempted Mississippi’s law allowing ballot receipt after election day. The Libertarian Party of Mississippi (plaintiff) filed a similar suit. The district court consolidated the cases and granted summary judgment in Mississippi’s favor. The Fifth Circuit reversed, finding the federal statutes preempted the Mississippi law. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

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Holding and Reasoning (Barrett, J.)

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Dissent (Alito, J.)

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