Lawsuits: RNC Challenging States’ Acceptance of Late Mail-In Ballots

Republicans are challenging several states that allow mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day if they were postmarked on or before the day of voting, saying that such allowances “threaten the integrity of our elections.”

Approximately 20 states and Washington, DC, accept these late ballots in order to make room for postal issues and people who do not remember to mail in their votes until Election Day, according to NPR. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and “others” have filed lawsuits in Nevada, Illinois, Mississippi, and North Dakota to prevent this from happening — but all the challenges except the one in Illinois have already been thrown out by judges. 

Arguing that the decision regarding the end of a federal election is up to Congress, not the states, RNC election integrity communications director Claire Zunk told the outlet that “the election should end on Election Day – that’s the law, and voters deserve fair and accurate results on November 5.”

“Counting ballots that come in after Election Day in Mississippi and other states threatens election security and undermines transparency for voters,” she added.

Judge Louis Guirola ruled against the Republican challengers in the Mississippi case, arguing that Congress did make allowances for some late ballots to be counted.

“If one federal statute implicitly allows post-election receipt of overseas ballots mailed by election day, that statute is presumed not to offend against the election-day statutes,” Guirola wrote, “from which one may infer that the similar Mississippi statute on postelection receipt is likewise inoffensive.”

Recently, the RNC has appealed its case in Mississippi to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, known as the most conservative appellate court in the country. 

The committee also plans to appeal the Nevada case, Zunk said. That case is especially important due to it being a swing state.

“Rather than letting us fight this in court, a liberal judge unjustifiably dismissed our case,” the election integrity advocate told NPR. “Political parties must be allowed to fight invalid election laws that threaten the integrity of our elections.”

The case is Republican National Committee v. Wetzel, No. 1:24-cv-37 (Consolidated Case) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.