Three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges ruled on Friday that Mississippi is not allowed to count mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day. The ruling, which was handed down by three judges appointed by former President Donald Trump, is not expected to impact the presidential election on November 5 since the ruling was announced so close to Election Day.
In its ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel said, “Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election’ of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors. 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.”
The court explained that the ruling does not mean every ballot has to be counted on Election Day. Instead, the court said, “Even if the ballots have not been counted, the result is fixed when all of the ballots are received and the proverbial ballot box is closed. The selections are done and final.”
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that when election officials are still receiving ballots, the election remains “ongoing” since “live ballots are still being received.”
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“Although a single voter has made his final selection upon marking his ballot, the entire polity must do so for the overall election to conclude,” the judges wrote. “So the election concludes when the final ballots are received and the electorate, not the individual selector, has chosen.”
According to The Associated Press, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Friday ruling reversed a decision handed down in July by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. Guirola had previously dismissed challenges to the state’s election law by the Republican National Committee, the Libertarian Party of Mississippi, and other parties.
While the court ordered the case to be sent back to Guirola for additional action, the judges said the ruling would not be returned to a lower court until seven days after the appeal deadline, which The Associated Press reported is typically at least 14 days. The outlet noted that the ruling will likely not go into effect until after November 5.
Following Friday’s decision, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley released a statement, saying, “This is a major win for election integrity, upholding the law and commonsense ballot safeguards. Voters deserve nothing less than a fair and transparent election which ends on November 5th. We will continue to defend the law, fight for protection of every legal vote, and stop election interference in our country’s most important election.”
