Section Branding
Header Content
Court Rulings Put Time Back On Georgia Election Clock
Primary Content
A flurry of legal actions are extending the deadline for the end of the contentious Georgia gubernatorial race.
In a Federal decision from Georgia’s Northern District, Judge Leigh Martin May ruled that Gwinnett County was in violation of the Civil Rights Act when it rejected absentee ballots where a voter failed to include their birth date. Elections officials there have been ordered to delay certification of their election results until they have counted previously rejected absentee ballots.
Meanwhile, the non-partisan voting rights group Common Cause successfully argued in another Federal filing that all provisional ballots were suspect in light of gubernatorial candidate and former Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s allegations that Democrats hacked the state’s voter registration system. Provisional ballots are used by voters with election day registration issues. Common Cause Georgia’s Sara Henderson said the allegations, for which Kemp has not yet provided proof, were the impetus for their filing.
“We thought it was enough proof that anybody who had problems with registration at the polls should be given an opportunity to vote again,” Henderson said.
In ruling in foavor of Common Cause, Judge Amy Totenberg did not give voters a second chance to vote. Instead she asked the secretary of state to establish a hotline for provisional voters to call and make sure their ballots were counted. She also said the state must take at least three extra days to certify the final results of the election.
Sara Henderson of Common Cause said the ruling is not proof that anyone actually hacked Georgia's voter rolls. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is still investigating Kemp's claims that someone did.
Secondary Content
Bottom Content
