A conservative federal court said Mississippi can't count mail-in ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day, though Friday's decision wasn't expected to affect the Nov. 5 election. Although the appellate judges firmly asserted that counting late ballots violates federal law, even if those ballots are postmarked by Election Day, the judges stopped short of an order immediately blocking Mississippi from continuing the practice, per the AP. Their ruling noted federal court precedents have discouraged court actions that change established procedures shortly before an election. The outcome may be negligible in most elections in heavily Republican Mississippi, but the case could affect voting in swing states if the Supreme Court ultimately issues a ruling.
Mississippi is one of several states with laws allowing mailed ballots to be counted if they're postmarked by Election Day, per the National Conference of State Legislatures. The list includes swing states such as Nevada and states such as Colorado, Oregon, and Utah, which rely heavily on mail voting. The three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a July decision by US District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., who'd dismissed challenges to Mississippi's election law by the Republican National Committee, the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, and others. The appeals court order sent the case back to Guirola for further action. The appeals court said its ruling Friday wouldn't be returned to a lower court until seven days after the deadline for appealing their decision has passed—which is usually at least 14 days. That would put the effect of the ruling well past Nov. 5.
Although the Mississippi challenge was led by Republicans and Libertarians, there's bipartisan support for the Mississippi practice. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is defending the state's top election official, Secretary of State Michael Watson, a defendant in the case; both are Republicans. Watson said in a statement Friday that his office will "explore all available legal options." RNC Chair Michael Whatley praised the ruling for upholding "commonsense ballot safeguards" and said voters deserve "a transparent election, which ends on November 5th." UCLA law professor Richard Hasen, meanwhile, wrote on his election law blog that the appeals court ruling was a "bonkers opinion" and noted that "every other court to face these cases has rejected this argument."
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