Appeals court rules Mississippi extended election deadline for mail-in ballots is illegal

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that Mississippi's election law that allows mail ballots to come in up to five days after Election Day is illegal, because voters need to cast their ballots by Election Day. 

Mississippi is one of 18 states that let mail-in ballots come in after Election Day, if they are postmarked by Nov. 5, per The Hill. The order has now been sent back to a lower court to determine whether the Mississippi statue will be blocked immediately, or if it is too late for the statue to be changed for the 2024 election. 

The three-judge panel said Congress and federal law designate a single deadline for elections, and that day is the day that votes must be cast and received by election officials.

“Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day," Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham wrote for the panel. "Federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days. The State’s contrary law is preempted."

The ruling comes as election officials warn that voting by mail could face delays because of issues with the United States Postal Service. Most states require the ballots to be in by Election Day in order to count, and 10 states require the votes to be in by seven days after the election if they are postmarked on time. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that he is "confident" that the postal service is prepared for the election, and Postal Service records show that roughly 99.8% of ballots were delivered within seven days in 2020, and 99.9% were in by 2022.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.