A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Mississippi law allows mail-in ballots to be counted if they are mailed before Election Day but are accepted five days later. Election day – provided in advance by federal law.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling does not have an immediate impact on the current election, as a three-judge panel appointed by Trump declined to issue an injunction blocking the vote count and sent the case to a lower court. further action.
However, it does open up a possible problem that could come up US Supreme Courtthis could have implications for states that allow sealed ballots to be counted before Election Day.
The decision of the appeals court states that such ballots should not be counted.
“Congress has statutorily established a single ‘day’ for the election of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors,” the three-judge panel wrote in its opinion. “Text, precedent, and historical experience confirm that these ‘election day’ ballots must be both casting by voters and received by public officials.”
The decision Judges James Ho, Kyle Duncan and Andrew Oldham note that as of November 2022, 18 states and the District of Columbia allow post-election ballot purchases and suggest they should not.
“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote before Election Day. Federal law does not allow Mississippi to extend the voting period by one day, five days, or 100 days,” the ruling said.
Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, director of the Project for the Preservation of Democracy and an election law analyst for NBC News, said the decision “boring.”
“Suffice it to say that federal law leaves it up to the states and requires these people vote It’s not the same as saying they should have ballots by Election Day received until election day. Every court that has faced these cases has rejected this argument,” he said he wrote in his post on its website on Friday.
“I would be very surprised if any court changed the rules for Mississippi at this late date, and I would be even more surprised that such a decision would survive Supreme Court review,” he said.
The decision is a great victory for Azerbaijan Republican National CommitteeFiled the original lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s vote-by-mail rule. Michael Whatley, RNC Chairman, appreciated the verdict Like “MASS ELECTION TOTALITY VICTORY”.
Lawrence Hurley contributed.