Kathy Boockvar recently sat down with New York Times reporter Nick Corasaniti to discuss the urgent preparations underway as election officials brace for a potential Supreme Court ruling that could significantly alter mail-in voting rules just months before the 2026 midterms.
The case, which centers on a Mississippi law, challenges the practice of counting ballots that are cast and postmarked by Election Day but arrive shortly thereafter. With 18 states and territories currently following similar procedures—and over 700,000 such ballots cast in the last major election—a shift in the legal landscape could have profound implications for voter turnout and election administration.
As the Court deliberates, secretaries of state across the country are already drafting “road maps” for county clerks and exploring legislative fixes to mitigate potential disenfranchisement. The primary concern among experts is the “tight timeline” for voter education; if a ruling is issued as late as June, officials will have a narrow window to inform the public that a ballot mailed on Election Day might no longer be counted.
Kathy emphasized that changing long-standing voting habits is not as simple as sending a single notification, noting that effective communication requires repetition to ensure no one is left behind. As Kathy told The Times:
“Voters are humans, and we know that one tap, one message doesn’t get through. And it might take seven or 10 or 15 times with a voter hearing something to fully understand the changes.”
Ultimately, ensuring that every eligible vote is cast and counted on time will hinge on how effectively we communicate these changes to help voters navigate changes to rules they’ve long taken for granted.