Three of the most extreme right-wing Trump judicial appointees are set to hear arguments next week in an election law appeal that could quickly make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court — and, if the challengers get their way, upend mail voting this fall.
It’s a fringe case that shouldn’t go anywhere, but it’s 2024 so the lawyers involved appear to be trying to force the case up to the conservative justices to see if they’ll bite.
The Republican National Committee, joined by the Mississippi Republican Party, and Libertarian Party of Mississippi filed a pair of lawsuits, which have since been consolidated, trying to block Mississippi from accepting mail-in absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but not received until up to five days later, as is allowed under a 2020 law.
In essence, the challengers point to a handful of federal statutes that set forth the fact that there is an “Election Day” and argue that, because of that, Mississippi is preempted from accepting any ballots received after Election Day.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., a George W. Bush appointee, roundly and soundly rejected the arguments in a July ruling, but both parties appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
This case is, ultimately, not just about Mississippi — as the lawyers for a veterans group and retirees group that intervened in the case to support the law pointed out.
“With the enactment of this law,” the lawyers wrote, “Mississippi joined the ranks of nearly thirty states and territories with similar laws, which help ensure that the results of elections reflect the choices of the voters who participate in them.”
If this case reaches the Supreme Court, which became much more likely with Monday’s news of the judges hearing the appeal, it could have nationwide ramifications for all of those states’ laws.
The Fifth Circuit — which includes Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas — has 17 active judges. It is an extremely conservative court that is increasingly willing to accept arguments that either have never been considered because they’re so fringe or run directly counter to Supreme Court precedent.1
On Monday, the Fifth Circuit announced the three-judge panel that will hear the case on September 24: Judges James Ho, Kyle Duncan, and Andrew Oldham. The three likely are — with issue-by-issue distinctions — the three furthest right of the six Trump appointees to the Fifth Circuit….