The Ballot Follows the Flag: Unite for Veterans Welcomes Supreme Court Ruling in Watson v. RNC

Unite for Veterans welcomes today's Supreme Court ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee, which upholds grace periods for mail-in ballots and protects the ability of active-duty military, overseas voters, and millions of other eligible Americans to cast a ballot and have it counted.

Many of us voted by mail when deployed. We know what it means to mail a ballot from overseas and trust that it will count. Today's ruling honors that trust — and extends the same protection to every eligible American who relies on voting by mail.

Grace periods exist because the mail is slow, unpredictable, and outside the control of the voter. That is as true for a senior in rural Mississippi as it is for a service member stationed overseas. Today's ruling recognizes that — and recognizes that stripping that protection from any eligible voter weakens democracy for all of us.

"The military has voted by mail since the Civil War," said retired Marine Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler, combat veteran and Unite for Veterans spokesperson. "Today's decision keeps faith with that tradition and protects every eligible American who relies on voting by mail. That is the democracy we served to defend."

The work continues. Protecting these laws — and ensuring election officials have the resources to implement them before November — remains urgent. Voting is one of our most important shared traditions. Today's ruling helps protect access to it. Unite for Veterans will keep working to ensure that every eligible American can participate — confidently, and without confusion or intimidation.

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