Today, the United States Supreme Court two actions with regards to ballot access and voter registration.
In a 5 to 4 decision in Watson vs The RNC, the Court upheld the State of Mississippi and 18 other State/United States territories’ right to count mail-in ballots if they arrive five days after voting, as long as they are postmarked on Election Day.
In another action, the Justices have agreed to hear a case from Republicans who are arguing that a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes, which said two 2022 state laws requiring proof of citizenship before registering to vote and disqualifying voters who may be ineligible to vote but perhaps not give enough time to correct any errors, went against the National Voter Registration Act, was in error.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes reacted to both Supreme Court actions.
In a video, posted on social media, Secretary Fontes said:
“…The United States Supreme Court ruling today in Watson is important for mail-in voting, but distinguished Arizona, not in the case, but we are distinguished. Let me tell you why. Arizona is an in-hand state.
You’ve got to have your ballot in the hand of an election official by 7 p.m., that’s what our statute said. Mississippi’s statute, that’s my friend Secretary Watson, which is the name of the case, says that you’ve got to have the ballot postmarked by election day, but in the hand of the election official at five days after, right? So there’s a five-day rule in Mississippi. The court didn’t make a constitutional ruling saying that getting mail-in ballots after election day was okay for the whole country.
All it did was say that Mississippi’s statute is constitutional and it killed the challenge against that. So, as far as states are concerned, we can tell the statute that says how long you have after election day is good for Mississippi. We don’t know what the constitutional overall ruling is for the whole idea.
Long processes; more to come on this, but a victory for my friends in Mississippi who have postmarked rules, and so do California and Washington and so many other states in America. States run elections, not the federal government..”
In an official press release from his office, the Secretary wrote:
“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court reaffirms a fundamental principle of our election system: states administer elections, not the federal government. The Court held that federal law does not prohibit states from counting mail ballots that are cast by Election Day but received afterward when state law authorizes that process. The decision is particularly significant for states that use a postmark system, where ballots must be postmarked by Election Day but may be received and counted during a period established by state law.
Arizona’s law is different. Arizona is an in-hand state, meaning voted ballots must be received by an election official no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. As a result, today’s decision does not change how elections are conducted in Arizona.
With Arizona’s Primary Election underway and ballots now arriving in voters’ mailboxes, the best way to ensure your ballot is counted is simple: receive it, vote it, and return it as soon as possible. Voters who return their ballot by mail should do so no later than July 14, 2026. Ballots may also be returned to any official ballot drop box or voting location by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Voters can also sign up to track their ballot every step of the way through the Arizona Voter Information Portal at Arizona.Vote.”
With regard to the Supreme Court considering the Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes case, the Secretary offered:
“Today’s action by the U.S. Supreme Court is procedural. The Court agreed to hear the case NEXT YEAR. It will not affect Arizona’s 2026 elections. Arizona voters should continue registering and voting under the current rules—which require documented proof of citizenship and voter ID pursuant to the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling.
However, after years of legal wrangling and legislation, Arizona does need clarity from the Court on how to administer the citizenship requirement for voting. The current process is confusing to voters and results in some voter applications being totally rejected just because of which form they happened to use.
Our office will continue following the law and ensuring every eligible Arizona voter can cast a ballot that is counted.”
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