(Bloomberg) -- A federal appeals court ruled that Mississippi’s acceptance of mail ballots after Election Day violates US law, but sent the question about whether its decision will apply to the Nov. 5 presidential contest back to a lower court judge.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the Republican National Committee that accepting absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day violates US law establishing a single day for federal elections nationwide.
But the three-judge panel didn’t decide whether the ruling will apply to the fast-approaching Nov. 5 election. The panel sent the case back to a lower court judge “to fashion appropriate relief,” and that the district judge should give “due consideration” to preserving the status quo on the eve of an election.
Mississippi isn’t a battleground this election cycle — the Republican-majority state is widely expected to go for Donald Trump — but the case was viewed as an important test of broader GOP opposition to states that count late-arriving ballots. The RNC is appealing its loss in a similar case in Nevada — which is considered a swing state this year — but it isn’t on a fast track for any new activity before Election Day.
A spokesperson for the Mississippi attorney general’s office said in an email that they “respect the court’s decision and look forward to further proceedings in the case.”
It’s unclear if the state or liberal-leaning advocacy groups that intervened will ask the full 5th Circuit bench to reconsider the decision or petition the US Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly cautioned against last-minute decisions by federal courts that upend state election laws close to when voters head to the polls.
Mississippi is one of 22 states and US territories that generally accept absentee ballots that arrive by mail after Election Day. Another 11 states will count late-arriving ballots from military and other Americans living abroad, according to the US Department of Justice, which filed a brief supporting the state in the case.
The state’s lawyers argued that because ballots have to be postmarked by Election Day in order to count, absentee voters are still making their final choice by the same date as Mississippians who go to the polls in person.
A federal district judge sided with the state in July, finding that Mississippi setting a “reasonable interval” to count ballots that were placed in the mail by Nov. 5 didn’t conflict with the national Election Day.
The Democratic National Committee wasn’t a party in the case, but filed a brief supporting Mississippi and one of its lawyers participated in arguments before the 5th Circuit on Sept. 24.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
