Judge Rejects RNC Lawsuit Challenging Hand-Delivered Ballots in Georgia
A federal judge rejected a Republican request to stop seven Georgia counties from accepting absentee ballot returns at election offices over the weekend and on Monday. Voters can return their absentee ballots in person until 7 p.m. on Election Day.
The Trump-appointed district court judge said the complaint “does not withstand even the most basic level of statutory review and reading comprehension.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Georgia Republican Party filed a lawsuit Sunday challenging seven Democratic-leaning Georgia counties for accepting hand-delivered absentee ballots from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4, in violation of state law and the U.S. Constitution. In these counties, voters who filled out absentee ballots could drop them off at election offices over the weekend and on Monday. A number of Republican-leaning counties with similar policies were not named in the lawsuit.
The Republican plaintiffs argued that because Georgia’s early voting period ended Nov. 1, the counties are violating state law by accepting hand-delivered ballots between Nov. 2 and Nov. 4. Additionally, they claimed that because only some counties are accepting these ballots, voters are being treated unevenly, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
The plaintiffs asked the court to order counties to stop accepting hand-delivered absentee ballots and to put aside the ones they’ve already received. The court held a hearing Monday.
A Fulton County judge on Saturday rejected a similar request to shut down absentee ballot return sites over the weekend. The sites were allowed to stay open and accept ballots.
After the Fulton County decision, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said on X that “Under state law, election officials can receive absentee ballots in person at [government] facilities if the county chooses. Several counties have chosen to do this.”