A federal appeals court ruled that a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked before election day — but received up to five days after Election Day — is preempted by federal law.

A federal appeals court Friday ruled invalid a Mississippi law that allows election officials to count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by then.

A U.S. appeals court on Friday said it was illegal for states to count mail-in ballots received after Election Day, siding with Republicans in a case challenging Mississippi's five-day grace period.