Key takeaways:
– A Georgia judge dismisses Republican lawsuit aimed at prohibiting counties from accepting mail ballots handed in personally.
– Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold and home to 11% of the state’s voters was the principal target of the lawsuit.
– Despite the suit’s claims, Georgia law allows voters to personally deliver their absentee ballots to county election offices until polls close on election day.
– Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer rejects the arguments citing no violation in returning absentee ballots by hand.
– County officials clarify the public and independent monitors may observe the hand-returning process.
A legal attempt by Republicans to stop counties from opening offices over the weekend for accepting hand-returned mail ballots was thwarted on Saturday in Georgia. An online hearing witnessed Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer denying the lawsuit that primarily targeted Fulton County, a major Democratic stronghold. Fulton County constitutes 11% of Georgia’s voters and is located mainly within the city of Atlanta.
The Legal Standoff
The lawsuit, filed late Friday, referenced a section of Georgia’s law claiming ballot drop boxes should not remain open beyond the end of advance voting, which concluded on Friday. In stark contrast, the state law clearly states that till the close of the polls at 7 p.m. on election day, voters can hand-deliver their absentees to county election offices.
This direct contention was initially overruled by lawyer Alex Kaufman during an emergency hearing on Saturday. Kaufman emphatically suggested that hand-deliveries of absentee ballots were not permissible for voters who had received them via mail.
Thereafter, Kaufman put forth an argument to prohibit voters from hand delivering their ballots from the closure of early in-person voting on Friday to the onset of election day on Tuesday. Surprisingly, Kaufman stated it was acceptable for ballots to be delivered by mail during the same period.
Overturning the Lawsuit
Judge Kevin Farmer, after rejecting Kaufman’s reasoning multiple times, orally overruled the lawsuit. “I find that it is not a violation of those two code sections for a voter to hand-return their absentee ballots,” Farmer pronounced.
Political Reactions and Public Transparency
Following the 2020 presidential election, Republican party stalwarts have scrutinized the election proceedings in Fulton County. The former President, Donald Trump, wrongfully blamed the county workers for costing him the election in Georgia.
Reacting to the current scenario, the State GOP chairman Josh McKoon, falsely alleged counties under Democratic control of “illegally accepting ballots.” These accusations circulated rapidly online among Republican activists, especially post an email from a Fulton County election official disallowing observers to sit inside election offices during the ballot return process.
However, Fulton County elections director Nadine Williams clarified the nature of these offices. She said that they operated as county offices, not polling places and hence, partisan poll watchers were never permitted to observe those precincts.
In a subsequent email, Williams emphasized that the process was public and no special credentials were required. Williams also mentioned observers from an independent monitoring team, present on-site and potentially, investigators from the secretary of state’s office.
As of Saturday afternoon, 105 ballots had been received across the four locations confirmed Fulton County spokesperson Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez. Therefore, the seemingly controversial law, upheld by Judge Farmer’s ruling, adds another layer to the continuing narrative of absentee voting rights in Georgia.