17 States and the District of Columbia accept and tabulate mail ballots that arrive after Election Day.

(Alexandria, VA) – October 26, 2024: Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that federal law requires mail ballots to arrive by Election Day. The lawsuit was challenging a Mississippi law that accepts and counts ballots that arrive up to 5 days after Election Day.

The court wrote: “Federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days.”

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed an amicus brief in the case. Additionally, the Foundation had a similar federal lawsuit in North Dakota challenging the state’s law that allowed ballots to arrive thirteen days after Election Day.

Federal law requires a single national Election Day to be held on “the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year.” In fact, every mention of Election Day in federal law is singular, not plural.

Mississippi and North Dakota are not alone in accepting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. In total, 17 states and the District of Columbia accept ballots that arrive after Election Day.

“Instead of Election Day, we now have Election Month in large part because states accept ballots that arrive days and even weeks after Election Day,” said PILF President, J. Christian Adams. “This sows distrust in our system and violates federal law. Today’s opinion by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for the rule of law and will have a national impact.”

Not only does the law require ballots to arrive by Election Day, but it is also good policy. The Foundation’s brief in this case highlighted Florida’s turnaround from the 2000 debacle to now being one of the few states that knows its results on election night. A large reason for this is the state’s requirement that mail ballots arrive by Election Day.

This victory would not have been possible without Judicial Watch’s Russ Nobile and is the result of years of collaboration between PILF and Judicial Watch.

PILF attorneys in the case are J. Christian Adams and Joseph Nixon.

Read the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion here.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. PILF has brought lawsuits and won victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.

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For media inquiries, please reach out to Lbowman@publicinterestlegal.org