The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that Cobb County, Georgia’s third-largest county, may only count absentee ballots received Nov. 5 by 7:00 p.m.
The Republican National Committee had challenged a judge’s order extending the ballot deadline to Nov. 8 after Cobb County election officials announced they were late in sending out over 3000 absentee ballots.
The ballots would need to be postmarked by 7 p.m. Tuesday and sent out following Oct. 30.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center had sued on behalf of three Cobb County voters who were affected by the mix-up, seeking the deadline extension, according to the New York Post.
The Supreme Court’s order mandates that absentee ballots from the over 3000 affected voters be “separated” and not counted pending another court order.
“The Board shall keep separate the absentee ballots of any ‘Affected Voters’ – as identified by the Nov. 1, 2024 order — that are received by the Board after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024 and on or before 5:00 p.m. November 8, 2024,” read the court order.
The order will not apply to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Absentee Act voters. Nov. 6, 2020, three days after Election Day, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office stated that there were over 22,600 military and provisional ballots still outstanding.
RNC chairman Michael Whatley celebrated the ruling on X, arguing that elections should be confined to a single day.
“Election Day is Election Day — not the week after,” Whatley tweeted. “We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates.”
HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia.
Democrat-run Cobb County wanted to accept 3,000 absentee ballots AFTER the Election Day deadline. We took this case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
We just got word that we WON the case. Election Day is Election Day — not the week…
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) November 4, 2024
Mike Davis, founder of The Article III Project, also celebrated the ruling by calling it a major victory.
🚨
Major Win for Election Integrity:
Georgia Supreme Court rules Cobb County cannot count absentee ballots received after Election Day.
Election Day is Election Day. https://t.co/EAYXQ2MoHn
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) November 4, 2024
