Trump Court Rulings Split

Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states may count mail ballots postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive afterward, rejecting a Republican National Committee challenge to Mississippi’s five-day grace period. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices, handing President Donald Trump and national Republicans a significant election-law defeat ahead of the midterms. The decision preserves similar rules in more than a dozen states, including California and Illinois, while prompting conservative criticism of Barrett and warnings from Justice Samuel Alito that late-arriving ballots could undermine public confidence. Trump called the ruling a “tremendous loss,” renewed demands for voter-ID legislation and the SAVE America Act, and pressed Senate Republicans to overcome procedural obstacles to his voting agenda.