Appeals Court Says Mississippi Law Allowing Ballots After Election Day Is Illegal

The opinion redirects the case back to the lower court while refraining from issuing an injunction that would halt Mississippi’s law.

Residents drop mail-in ballots in an official ballot box outside a library in Milwaukee on Oct. 20, 2020. Scott Olson/Getty Images

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 doing so, it ruled against a Mississippi law allowing ballots to be counted if they arrived no more than five days after the election and if they were postmarked on or before the date of the election.