Appeals Court Strikes Down Minnesota Dems’ Mail-In Scheme

A federal appeals court blocked Minnesota Democrats from extending the state’s mail-in ballot deadline past Election Day, handing state Republicans a major legal victory.

In a 2-1 ruling, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail-in ballots in Minnesota must be received by Nov. 3 in order to be counted. The court ruled that Minnesota secretary of state Steve Simon violated the Constitution when he attempted to extend "the deadline for receipt of ballots without legislative authorization."

Minnesota Republicans filed the lawsuit in September to challenge Simon’s proposal, which would have allowed mail-in ballots to be counted until Nov. 10, a full week after Election Day, even if they lacked a postmark. State representative Eric Lucero (R.) and Republican elector James Carson said in their suit that the decree was unconstitutional and in violation of federal law. The suit accused Simon of abusing his authority and challenged the legality of counting ballots without any evidence the ballots were cast on or before Election Day.