Appeals court reverses decision on state's mail ballot deadline
A panel of three Trump-appointed judges on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down Friday a lower court’s ruling that allows the state of Mississippi to continue counting mail-in absentee ballots if they’re received within five days of Election Day.
However, the court rejected Republicans’ initial request for a permanent injunction, sending the issue back to the district court for further consideration, making it unclear whether their order would apply ahead of Election Day.
The case– which could have wide-ranging impacts on the acceptance of late-arriving ballots throughout the country– is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Circuit Court Judge Andrew Oldham wrote on behalf of the conservative panel that the acceptance of ballots ends on the "election day," because "Congress statutorily designated a singular 'day for the election.'"
-ABC News' Isabella Murray and Olivia Rubin