Appeals Court Overturns Mississippi Law That Allows Mail-In Ballots After

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An appeals court held that mail-in ballots can’t be counted if they are received after Election Day.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released an opinion on Oct. 25 stating that federal law requires mail-in ballots be counted no later than election day.

In September, the appeals court heard arguments over Mississippi’s decision to count ballots that arrived no more than five days after the election if they were postmarked on or before the date of the election. The policy was adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic but the state kept it even after the pandemic ended.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) challenged the state policy and previously lost in district court.

Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote the appeals court’s opinion, which stated that both the Constitution and Congress effectively prevented states from changing the deadline for counting ballots.

“Because Mississippi’s statute allows ballot receipt up to five days after the federal election day, it is preempted by federal law,” Oldham wrote.

He went on to say that Mississippi’s “problem is that it thinks a ballot can be ‘cast’ before it is received.”

The court’s opinion does not offer a remedy for the RNC’s complaint and declines to issue a permanent injunction. Instead, it remanded the decision to a lower court for further consideration.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.