Judicial Watch challenges Mississippi law allowing absentee ballot counting after Election Day

Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Mississippi Libertarian Party, challenging a law that allows absentee ballots to be received and counted after Election Day. 

The group filed the lawsuit Monday, citing it as a Civil Rights suit.

Mississippi is one of 19 states that accepts mail-in ballots that arrive late as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day, according to the Clarion Ledger. 

The Republican National Committee and the Mississippi Republican Party have also filed a lawsuit challenging this election law.

The law allows absentee ballots in presidential elections to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received within five days, which Judicial Watch argues violates voters' constitutional rights. 

"Counting untimely, illegal, and invalid votes, such as those received in violation of federal law, substantially increases the pool of total votes cast and dilutes the weight of votes cast by Plaintiff’s members and others in support of Plaintiff’s federal nominees," the watchdog group said.

“Federal law is very clear – Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said regarding the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press. “However, some states accept and count ballots days and days after Election Day, and we believe that practice is wrong.”