Just as in the general election, the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration is being sued over delays in sending out absentee ballots for the U.S. Senate runoff.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU of Georgia and the law firm Dechert LLP have filed an emergency lawsuit in Cobb Superior Court on behalf of three voters who either have not received absentee ballots before Tuesday’s runoff election concludes or are just now getting them.
Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler said this week that 3,442 absentee ballots did not go out until Monday instead of last Wednesday, the day before the two-day county Thanksgiving holiday, when they were listed as having been mailed out.
The runoff between Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker has an 11-day window for absentee ballots to be requested, returned and received, and on four of those days no ballots were mailed.
UPDATED:
Cobb Elections has agreed to extend the deadline for those who did not receive an absentee ballot by Nov. 26. Those voters will have until next next Friday, Dec. 9, to have their absentee ballots postmarked and mailed.
A hearing took place Friday before Cobb Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill, who signed a consent decree as she did last month.
Cobb Elections contended during the hearing that all absentee ballots requested for the runoff met the legal deadlines for being mailed, and that they weren’t picked up in the mail until Monday, Nov. 28, due to the holiday.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Absentee ballots from voters not subject to Friday’s agreement must be received by the Cobb Elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday. Absentee ballot drop boxes are available at some early voting locations, including the East Cobb Government Service Center, by 7 p.m. Friday, the last day of early voting.
Another plaintiff in the lawsuit is the Cobb County Democracy Center, which bills itself as a voter advocacy organization.
The suit sought to extend the deadline for those who haven’t received their ballots to Dec. 9, when military and overseas ballots are due.
The suit also wants to allow those voters who haven’t received the absentee ballots by 2 p.m. Friday to use a federal absentee write-in ballot.
A similar suit in the general election resulted in a consent decree allowing absentee voters extra time to return their ballots. That was after Cobb Elections admitted to a “human error” in delaying the mailing of around 1,000 absentee ballots.
In a release Friday morning, the SPLC, ACLU and Dechert also want Cobb Elections to deliver absentee ballots to homebound voters and for the county to notify voters of the changes.
They say the problems are due to a new state voting law, SB 202, which reduced the time for absentee ballots to be requested and returned from the 2020 elections.
One of the plaintiffs is working out of state is not available to vote in person, according to the lawsuit (you can read it here).
She said she inquired on Tuesday about the status of her ballot, but was told she would have to wait for it to be mailed, vote early or vote in person.
County elections offices have three business days to mail an absentee ballot upon receipt of an application.
Another plaintiff said he requested his ballot on Nov. 16 but received it on Thursday, with the mailing date showing Nov. 26, last Saturday.
That plaintiff, David Medof of East Cobb, said in an affidavit attached to the lawsuit that he’s a student attending college outside the county. He said he does not have a car and is studying for final exams.
Medof said he completed and returned his ballot immediately on Thursday, “but I am still concerned that my ballot will not arrive by 7:00pm on election day in time to be counted.”
The lawsuit also claims that Cobb is slower to process returned absentee ballots, with around 20 percent of those turned in by Nov. 21, compared to nearly 30 percent in Fulton and 27 percent in DeKalb.
After today, the only location to drop off an absentee ballot in person is Tuesday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., at the Cobb Elections office (995 Roswell St., Marietta).
Those voters casting ballots in person will go their usual precincts, which do not have absentee ballot dropoff availability.
Related:
- How East Cobb voted in U.S. Senate general election, governor’s race
- Cobb adds Saturday early voting for U.S. Senate runoff
- Recertified Cobb election results change outcome in Kennesaw race
- Cobb early voting schedule released for U.S. Senate runoff
- Two Democrats elected to open East Cobb legislative seats
- Mableton cityhood referendum passes after 3 others failed
- Birrell, Chastain re-elected in key Cobb races
- East Cobb News Politics & Elections page
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We put in faxed requests for an absentee ballot last Friday, 25th November.
Received the ballots yesterday just before 9pm (USPS runs very late here, especially during Xmas). Looked up on BallotTrax, saw the request was accepted 11/28 and on 11/29 the ballots were mailed.
The USPS is probably slammed, so the normal 2-day delivery was 4.
Took me more time to fill out the stupid yellow envelope than to actually vote.
Yet another reason why automatically mailed absentee ballots should be the standard if requested previously. Having to make a new request for each election is onerous and anti-voter. That’s unAmerican.
I delayed my request hoping it would be automatically sent and due to holiday priorities, didn’t get around to the request until the last allowed date.
Suppose I could mail the ballot, but I’ll make a trip to the local library to drop it off sometime before Tuesday.
I can’t imagine standing in line to vote – pre-vote or on election day. While I like my neighbors, standing in lines that aren’t necessary is a waste of all our time.