Supreme Court Signals Divide on Election-Day Ballot Deadline

The US Supreme Court signaled a divide over Republican calls to require mail-in ballots to arrive by Election Day, with key justices voicing concern about the impact the case might have on the practice of early voting.

In a hearing that lasted more than two hours Monday, the court grappled with a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they arrive within five business days of Election Day. A ruling toppling the measure, which Republicans say is incompatible with federal law, would upend similar grace periods in as many as 29 states.