“Under state law, election officials can receive absentee ballots in person at govt facilities if the county chooses,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement. “Several counties have chosen to do this. We are working with the counties and the political parties to ensure this is done transparently and within Georgia law.”
A Georgia judge has dismissed a conservative lawsuit seeking to prevent voters from casting mail-in ballots at physical polling stations.
According to FOX News, the lawsuit alleged that Fulton County officials broke the law when they opened election offices last Saturday and Sunday. The offices, which would ordinarily have been closed on the weekend, were used to “accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.”
Fulton County, the most populous in Georgia, skews heavily Democratic.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the state Republican Party said that the county’s actions violated state election statutes.
“This is a blatant violation of Georgia law,” the Republican Party said in a statement. “[The law] states that ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends.’”
“To make matters worse,” the GOP said, “the four election office locations are situated in areas of the county that will clearly favor Democrat candidates.”
However, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—himself a Republican—defended Fulton County’s opening of election offices, saying that local governments have the authority to receive absentee ballots at the time and place of their choosing.
“Under state law, election officials can receive absentee ballots in person at govt facilities if the county chooses,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Several counties have chosen to do this. We are working with the counties and the political parties to ensure this is done transparently and within Georgia law.”
Fulton County also indicated that it is requiring most voters to sign an affidavit before casting their ballots.
“All voters returning absentee ballots in person to the Department of Registration & Elections must sign an affidavit indicating whether they are returning the ballot for themselves or an authorized family member, household member or person in their care,” the Fulton County Department of Registration & Elections said in a statement.
In a Saturday emergency meeting, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer upheld the county’s position, rejecting all of the conservative plaintiffs’ arguments.
During the meeting, Farmer repeatedly referred to Georgia law, emphasizing that current statutes seem to explicitly permit voters to hand-return mail-in ballots if certain conditions are met.
“[The law] seems to indicate that personal delivery to the registrar and not to a drop box is kosher,” Farmer said. “And more than kosher—lawful.”
“I find that it is not a violation … for a voter to hand-return their absentee ballots,” Farmer said.
Sources
Georgia GOP threatens lawsuit against deep-blue Fulton County over extended absentee voting
Georgia Judge Rejects Republican Lawsuit to Block Hand-Returned Mail Ballots
Georgia judge says voters can hand in mail ballots in rejection of GOP lawsuit
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