WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is siding with Republicans to prevent Wisconsin from counting mailed ballots that are received after Election Day.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Supreme Court declined to extend Wisconsin's absentee ballot deadline on Monday

  • Ballots in Wisconsin will only be counted if they are received before or on Nov. 3

  • The court's three liberal justices — Justice Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor — dissented

The justices on Monday refused to reinstate a lower court order that called for mailed ballots to be counted if they are received up to six days after the Nov. 3 election. A federal appeals court had already put that order on hold.

Democrats argued that the flood of absentee ballots and other challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic makes it necessary to extend the period in which ballots can be counted. Wisconsin is one of the nation’s hot spots for COVID-19, with hospitals treating a record high number of patients with the disease.

Republicans opposed the extension, saying that voters have plenty of opportunities to cast their ballots by the close of polls on Election Day and that the rules should not be changed so close to the election.

The court's three liberal justices — Justice Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor — dissented.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.