Cite as: 609 U. S. ____ (2026) 5 Opinion of the Court Libertarian Party of Mississippi filed a similar suit. The District Court consolidated the cases, then granted summary judgment to Mississippi. Republican National Committee v. Wetzel, 742 F. Supp. 3d 587, 601–602 (SD Miss. 2024). The Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that Mississippi’s statute is preempted because the federal election-day statutes require ballots to be received by election day. Republican National Committee v. Wetzel, 120 F. 4th 200, 215 (2024). It denied rehearing and rehearing en banc. Republican National Committee v. Wetzel, 132 F. 4th 775, 777 (2025). We granted certiorari. 607 U. S. 1020 (2025). II A The question before us is a narrow one about timing. Plaintiffs do not challenge the manner in which Mississippi carries out federal elections. They do not, for example, challenge the general practice of absentee voting. Nor do they challenge the use of the Postal Service or a common carrier to transmit ballots. Although the election-day statutes refer to a particular “day” for the election, plaintiffs do not contend that everything must occur on that day. For instance, they do not object to early voting or dispute that officials may count votes and certify a winner after election day. Finally, this is not a case about the Constitution. We do not consider the scope of Congress’s authority to regulate federal elections. The sole question before us is whether counting ballots postmarked by election day, but received up to five days later, violates the federal election-day statutes. B The federal election-day statutes do not preempt Mississippi’s law. The defining element of an “election”—the term