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.

A conservative federal court said Mississippi cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day, however Friday's decision was not expected to affect the Nov. 5 election. Although the appellate judges firmly asserted that counting late ballots violates federal law,