LISTEN LIVE: Supreme Court considers late-arriving mail ballot laws in case that may affect midterms

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether states can count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, a practice currently permitted in 14 states with grace periods ranging from one day to several weeks. The case centers on a fundamental tension in election law: ballot access versus election finality, since late-arriving ballots can delay result certification and create opportunities for disputes. The Court's decision could reshape mail voting nationwide and potentially affect midterm elections and future races, depending on which states lose their grace-period provisions. Conservative justices have signaled skepticism toward extended counting periods, though the Court's final ruling remains uncertain. The case underscores how even procedural election questions can have massive electoral consequences, particularly as mail voting has become a dominant voting method in many states.