NEW: 5th Circuit rules that it is *illegal* for states to count ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day but

[In It to Win It]

Mark Joseph Stern
@mjs_DC

NEW: A far-right panel of the 5th Circuit rules that it is *illegal* for states to count ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day but are postmarked by Election Day.

18 states + D.C. count these ballots. This decision would shred those laws. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25252882/rnc-ballots-case.pdf

BUT: The 5th Circuit decision only applies to Mississippi, the one state within the circuit that counts ballots received after Election Day.

The 5th Circuit is trying to tee up a Supreme Court decision to strike down ballot laws in many other states, too. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25252882/rnc-ballots-case.pdf

The 5th Circuit declined to issue a preliminary injunction against Mississippi's law, but declared it illegal and ordered the district court to issue an appropriate remedy. Nobody knows what that will look like! Confusion will now reign. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25252882/rnc-ballots-case.pdf

IF the district court tries to stop Mississippi from counting late-arriving ballots—which the 5th Circuit sort of suggests it should—I think the Supreme Court will block it because the election is too close. But who knows? SCOTUS is wildly inconsistent in this area.

Link to tweet

[servermsh]

1. Please note this likely won't apply to this election

Link to tweet

Two key points here:

1) This decision isn’t going to go into effect before the election—in MS or anywhere else. It’s instead teeing up a fight for *next* year.

2) The decision is still ludicrous—as is handing it down 11 days before an election in which it isn’t going to apply.

[drmeow]

3. I was going to say

ballots have already gone out saying they have to be postmarked by a certain day and received by a certain day. You can't move the goal posts after the game has started - not that that ever stopped them before but they could lose as many right wing voters as normal voters so it is a risk for them.

[Diraven]

2. The SCOTUS will rule

Whichever way allows Trump to win. Obviously.

[Think. Again.]

4. None of this applies to this election, but yes, whatever the SC can do to help trump, they will.

[Think. Again.]

5. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS ELECTION.

[Ilikepurple]

6. I'm not sure how this can be said enough confidence to post twice

I don’t really think we know how this ruling will reverberate through Mississippi and perhaps wider with before or after the election. We haven’t even seen how the district court will respond after it gets sent back. I’ll suspend my judgment until the USSC weighs in.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. Something that will screw the service people overseas.

Nice job, repubs.

[Bolo Boffin]

8. They can say it applies to Mississippi only all they want - Trump and his lawyers

will hoist this aloft and come screaming at all the states that allow Election-Day-postmarked ballots to come in up to five days later and still be counted.

The defendants should appeal this to the full 5th or SCOTUS immediately.