Mississippi Federal Court Could Decide Fate of Late-Arriving Ballots for 2024 After 5th Circuit Ruling
A panel of Trump-appointed judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) request to invalidate a Mississippi election law that allows for the counting of timely postmarked mail-in ballots for up to five business days after an election.
But with the Nov. 5 general election just 12 days away, the fate of late-arriving ballots in the Magnolia State still remains uncertain: The case will now return to a federal district court judge to determine how to implement the 5th Circuit’s ruling in light of legal precedent that counsels against making last-minute changes to election rules.
This decision could have nationwide implications on ballot receipt deadlines if appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sign up for our free newsletters so you never miss a lawsuit or court decision that could impact the election.
Friday’s decision reverses a district court judge’s prior rejection of the RNC’s lawsuit and could — depending on the district court’s next steps — put mail-in voters in Mississippi at risk of disenfranchisement due to postal delays or other factors beyond their control.
As of now, the consequences of today’s ruling are relatively limited given Mississippi is a non–battleground state that restricts mail-in voting to those who have a qualifying excuse.
However, should state officials or other defendants opt to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, an order from the justices could have nationwide implications. Approximately 20 other states and U.S. territories — including consequential mail-in voting heavy states like Nevada, New York and Ohio — permit ballots to be received after Election Day.
The Mississippi Legislature enacted the state’s five day post-election receipt deadline in 2020 with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Today’s unanimous ruling penned by Judge Andrew Oldham specifically held that Mississippi’s five-day deadline runs afoul of federal law, which sets a uniform day for elections to take place. The staunchly conservative panel’s decision concluded by stating that the case will be sent back to the “district court for further proceedings to fashion appropriate relief, giving due consideration to ‘the value of preserving the status quo in a voting case on the eve of an election.’”
In a lawsuit filed earlier this year, the RNC, Mississippi GOP and individual voters alleged that the state’s five-day deadline conflicts with federal law by “effectively extend[ing]” Mississippi’s federal election past the Election Day established by Congress. A judge promptly consolidated the suit with a nearly identical case from the Mississippi Libertarian Party.
The RNC’s legal challenge maintained that Mississippi’s post-Election Day receipt deadline disproportionately “harms” Republican voters, whom the committee maintained are historically less inclined to vote by mail.
The Republican plaintiffs also argued the challenged deadline impairs their constitutional right to vote because it results in “valid ballots” — especially those cast by Republican voters — being “diluted by untimely, invalid ballots” that they characterize as “fraudulent” and “illegitimate.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee, voting rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice underscored how curtailing the state’s receipt deadline would disenfranchise large numbers of Mississippians who rely on mail-in voting — especially elderly voters, voters with disabilities and those serving overseas in the military.
Mississippi’s Republican secretary of state also defended the legality of the state’s five-day deadline, emphasizing that the law at issue does not allow voters to cast their ballots past Election Day as the Republicans averred.
By filing suit in a conservative judicial venue, the RNC hoped to secure a favorable pre-election ruling that would, according to its spokesperson, “have major ramifications in future elections — not just in Mississippi but across the country.”
Neither side has indicated whether it plans to appeal today’s ruling to the nation’s highest court.
Within the past year alone, federal courts have soundly rejected right-wing legal challenges over ballot receipt deadlines in Illinois, Nevada and North Dakota, all of which asserted similar arguments to those made by the RNC’s Mississippi case.