The Cobb Board of Elections voted on Friday to reject a request by the head of the county Republican Party challenging the registration of more than 16,000 voters for the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoffs.
The board voted 4-0 after a very brief discussion that there wasn’t probable cause to conduct a full hearing into challenges by Jason Shepherd and Pam Reardon, another local Republican activist.
(You can read their challenges here and here.)
A Texas-based Republican organization called True the Vote announced on Friday it was challenging the registration of 364,541 voters in all 159 counties in Georgia it claims are ineligible to cast ballots in the runoffs.
Shepherd contended in his petition that there are 16,024 people registered to vote in Cobb County who live outside of Georgia, based on the U.S Postal Service’s National Change of Address Registry. Reardon’s challenge was based on similar grounds involving more than 30,000 voters.
But Gregg Litchfield, an attorney for Cobb Elections, said that “the mere fact that there’s this list with these names on it isn’t sufficient.” Daniel White, another lawyer representing Cobb Elections, told the board that it would “need more specific facts” to find probable cause.
Even if probable cause had been determined, those voters would have been allowed to cast a a provisional ballot marked as challenged. The petitioners would still have to prove those voters were ineligible to vote.
Early voting continues Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at five locations, and Monday through Wednesday in Cobb County for the two U.S. Senate runoffs. There’s also a runoff for a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Early voting also will take place from Dec. 28-31.
Cobb Elections also is undergoing a random audit of absentee ballot signatures from the November general elections by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office as the state continues to be in the national political spotlight.
In the general election a majority of Cobb voters voted for Jon Ossoff, a Democrat challenging Republican Sen. David Perdue, who had more votes across the state but not a majority. Democrat Raphael Warnock, who’s challenging appointed Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election, also garnered more votes than she did in Cobb County.
More than 1 million Georgia voters have cast ballots in the runoffs thus far, and recent polling has both races very close with party control of the Senate hanging in the balance.
National political figures have come to the state to campaign, including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for Perdue and Loeffler. Democratic president-elect Joe Biden visited this week to stump for Ossoff and Warnock, and Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect, will make a trip on their behalf Monday.
Related content
- Cobb early voting map shows estimated wait times
- Cobb Elections adds early voting locations for runoffs
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- Cobb: Government shredding didn’t include elections office
- Official Georgia recount begins in presidential race
- East Cobb voters stick with Trump but Biden wins precincts
- Cobb Elections explains post-shredding activities
- Cobb election results certified; Biden projected Ga. winner
- Georgia to conduct hand recount of presidential voting
- Loeffler, Perdue demand resignation of Ga. Secretary of State
- East Cobb 2020 Election Guide
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