Cobb judge extends deadline for returning 3K absentee ballots

Cobb judge extends deadline for returning 3K absentee ballots

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Cobb absentee ballots

An estimated 3,200 voters who were mailed absentee ballots late this week will get extra time to return them.

Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy ruled Friday that they will have until 5 p.m. Friday to either mail or return their absentee ballots by hand to the Cobb Elections Office.

Flournoy issued an injunction extending the time from Tuesday’s 7 p.m. deadline following a lawsuit from several individual voters and the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Georgia, who accused the Cobb Elections office of failing to mail out the ballots in a timely fashion.

Cobb Elections began expediting the absentee ballots that were requested near the Oct. 25 deadline, saying they were overwhelmed with such requests and there was an “equipment failure.”

But more than 1,000 of those requested ballots are out of state, ruling out in-person return and making timely mail return difficult.

Those ballots covered under the order were mailed after Oct. 30 and must be postmarked by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The injunction (you can read it here) also:

  • Orders the Board of Elections to mail absentee ballots with prepaid express return envelopes by the end of the day on Nov. 1, 2024.
  • Directs the Elections Department to segregate absentee ballots returned after 7 p.m. on Election Day and on or before 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 and keep them in a secure container.
  • Requires the Elections Department to notify affected voters of the situation and this order via phone or email if contact information is available.
  • Requires the Elections Department to provide a list of affected voters to all parties in the case.

Voter who did not get absentee ballots may still vote in person on Tuesday at their assigned.

“The agreement gives us a solution that helps ensure the voting rights of those affected and gives the public the assurance that all those who want to cast a ballot legally can do so,” Cobb Elections board chairwoman Tori Silas said in a statement issued by Cobb government Friday.

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