5th Circuit court ruling shuts down state laws allowing absentee ballots to be received after Election Day

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major ruling affecting absentee ballot laws only 11 days before Election Day.

Some states have expanded election regulations in order to allow the counting of ballots received after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by the election date. The ruling ends that practice and forces states to only count absentee ballots received by Election Day.

'This is a seismic win for fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections.'

The lawsuit was filed by the Republican Party of Mississippi, and the order is only binding in the three states in the 5th Circuit: Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

"Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day. And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period of voting by one day, five days, or 100 days. The State's contrary law is preempted," the ruling read.

Democrats feared that the decision would bolster efforts in other jurisdictions to shut down expansive voter laws. However, the decision will not block absentee ballots for the current election since it's so close to Election Day. The ruling sends the case down for other proceedings.

Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley praised the decision on social media.

"This is a seismic win for fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections," he wrote.

32 states already demand that ballots be returned by Election Day while another 10 states require them to be postmarked by Election Day and received no longer than 7 days after.

CNN noted loudly that the three judges on the 5th Circuit were appointed by former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

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