Exclusive | Right ignites after stunning SCOTUS ruling on California voter rights

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California Republicans have joined President Trump in blasting a Supreme Court ruling allowing states to continue counting mail in ballots that arrive after Election Day – warning the decision will further erode voter confidence in the state.

The high court ruled 5–4 that federal law does not prevent states from counting mail ballots received after Election Day, provided state law authorizes it and the ballots satisfy the required conditions, including being mailed on time.

Under California law, vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by county elections officials within seven days are counted.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices.

Justice Samuel Alito dissented, arguing the decision conflicts with federal election law and “two centuries of historical practice.”

The ruling marked one of the few cases in which the justices did not divide along the court’s usual 6–3 ideological lines.

The Republican National Committee, backed by the Trump administration, challenged a Mississippi law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive up to five business days later.

Republicans argued federal law establishes a single national Election Day and that ballots received after that date should not be counted.

President Trump, who has questioned the legitimacy of elections without providing evidence of fraud, called the ruling “a little bit surprising,” adding that it “gives people more time to vote illegally.”

He pressed Congress again to pass the SAVE America Act before the midterms.

“You have to show you’re a citizen of our country … no mail-in ballots unless you’re in the military, disabled, you’re ill or you’re away even on a vacation,” Trump said.

“We’re being very open about it. It’s pretty easy and we’ll have honest elections. But the ruling, which a lot of people were waiting for, that was a ruling that was, I think, it was very detrimental to honest elections. But it is what it is.

“Basically, they’re keeping it a little bit the way it is now.”

Steve Hilton, the Republican nominee for governor who has advanced to November’s general election, slammed the decision and predicted it would energize conservatives before the governor’s election on November 2, where the 56-year-old British-American faces off against Xavier Becerra.

“This ruling is an insult to every California voter and an affront to democracy,” Hilton told The California Post. “I know this ruling will fire up everyone who is sick of what’s going on in California. Thanks to this ridiculous, anti-democratic ruling, I am more sure than ever that change is coming.”

The SCOTUS ruling comes after results for the Los Angeles mayor’s race were only certified on June 26th – 24 days after the vote was held on June 2.

The election was controversial after Spencer Pratt ended in third place after late mail-in ballots poured in for socialist candidate, Nithya Raman.

Allegations of voters on Skid Row being paid for their ballots have led to an Department of Justice investigation led by the FBI in claims homeless were paid to vote.

California’s voting system is one of the most dysfunctional in the U.S., not sending a mail-in ballot to all 22 million voters, but allowing ”vote harvesting” – where ballots can be legally collected by third parties such as unions and party activists on behalf of voters.

Election officials are permitted to process mailed ballots before Election Day by verifying signatures and preparing envelopes for tabulation, but votes cannot be counted until polls close.

Because ballots postmarked by Election Day may continue arriving afterward, close races often take days or even weeks to be finalized.

Hilton accused the majority of ignoring what he described as flaws in California’s election system.

“Do the justices who voted to extend elections beyond Election Day even understand the scale of the corrupt ballot harvesting machine that has been built by the ruling elite in California?

“Do they realize that in California you don’t even need a valid postmark for a late-arriving ballot to be counted? That it’s possible to ‘back-date’ ballots by handwriting the date it was mailed?”

Hilton argued the ruling could “undermine confidence in elections in California” by “giving a green light to the corrupt, anti-democratic banana republic practices that have been running rampant.”

Meanwhile, California’s Democrat Secretary of State Shirley Weber called the Supreme Court decision “a win for voters.”

“By rejecting efforts to shorten the vote-by-mail return window, the court protected an important safeguard that helps ensure service members, overseas voters, Californians with disabilities, and rural communities are not silenced by mail delays beyond their control,” Weber said.

“This ruling makes one thing clear: our elections belong to the people, not to partisan agendas.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also welcomed the decision.

“This is a win for voters, plain and simple,” Newsom wrote on X. “Today’s ruling helps ensure mailed-in ballots get counted and people’s voices are heard through the democratic process.”

“Despite ongoing attacks from the Trump Administration, we will not stop ensuring every eligible Californian can make their voice heard,” he added. “Democracy is strongest when we all take part.”

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California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, founder of Reform California, also condemned the ruling, arguing California’s election laws still go beyond what the Supreme Court permitted.

“Even though the Supreme Court ruled that mail ballots can be counted after the election, California election rules are so insane that it is still violating this court ruling by counting ballots without a postmark,” he told The Post.

DeMaio said he wants state officials to tighten the rules governing late-arriving ballots.

“With this ruling in hand, I’m calling on state election officials to issue revised guidance to all counties to ensure that only ballots with proper postmarks on them are counted,” he added.

Rep. Vince Fong told The Post Americans deserve to know who they elected on Election Night, not one month later.

“Turning Election Day into Election Month undermines confidence in our elections and erodes public trust,” he said.

“Today’s ruling allows states like California to continue down a path of failed election policies that weaken election integrity. Californians live with the consequences every election cycle as Sacramento’s supermajority repeatedly changes the rules in ways that benefit their political interests rather than strengthen voter confidence.”