A federal appeals court has sent a warning to election officials in Mississippi ahead of November 5.
A challenge to Mississippi election law could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court after a ruling in federal court Friday, NBC News reported.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that counting mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day is against federal law.
The three-judge panel said that the state’s practice of counting ballots postmarked before Election Day but received up to five days after was a violation of federal law.
Despite the ruling, the judges did not grant an injunction.
However, the court’s ruling does provide an avenue for further lawsuits.
“Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election’ of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors,” the court’s opinion stated.
“Text, precedent, and historical practice confirm this ‘day for the election’ is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials,” it added.
That interpretation of the law could spell trouble for states that count late votes.
According to the judge’s opinion, as of November 2022, 18 states and the District of Columbia allowed late ballots to be counted.
They believe this contradicts the straightforward language of the federal law, which supersedes state law.
“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day,” the judges claimed in the ruling.
“And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days.”
Of course, such a commonsense reading of the law will not be popular with leftists who push mail-in balloting.
University of California, Los Angeles, law professor Rick Hansen said the ruling is “bonkers” in a blog post on Friday.
“Suffice it to say that federal law has left this to the states, and requiring that people vote by election day is not the same as saying their ballots must be received by election day,” Hansen wrote.
“Every other court to face these cases has rejected this argument.”
“I would be very surprised if any court changed the rules for Mississippi at this late date, and even more surprised if such an order would survive Supreme Court review,” he added.
Nevertheless, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley called it a “MASSIVE ELECTION INTEGRITY VICTORY.”
While the fight in Mississippi may reach the Supreme Court, others are challenging vote-by-mail over fairness and security concerns.
The Hill reported that problems with the mail system continue to plague the balloting process.
Election officials believe these persistent issues could have a significant impact on the upcoming election.
The postal service countered by claiming that election mail “routinely outperforms” other types of mail.
According to the Postal Service, 99.89% of ballots had a turnaround time of seven days in 2020 and then increased to 99.93% in 2022.
However, that might not be adequate closer to Election Day, especially since 32 states require ballots to be received by that important date.
Mississippi becomes one of at least 10 states that require ballots received within five days of Election Day while many others allow up to seven days.
This could be a significant issue as at least 43% of people voted by mail in 2020 and 31% in 2022.
Elections should be conducted in person, on paper, and on Election Day, with a process for absentee voting with cause.
This is the only way to ensure free and fair elections, and it negates arguments over how many days such ballots should be counted.
