The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday overturned a Cobb judge’s ruling to allow more time for some 3,400 late-mailed absentee ballots to be returned.
Instead, they must be received by 7 p.m. Tuesday by Cobb Elections or they won’t be counted.
By a 5-3 vote, the state’s high court ruled that those absentee ballots in question—mailed after last Wednesday, Oct. 30, must be in Cobb Elections custody when the polls close on Election Day on Tuesday.
The Georgia Republican Party and the Cobb Republican Party filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday, after Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy extended the deadline for those absentee ballots to be returned by 5 p.m. Friday.
Democratic Party interests made that request, and in his order Friday Flournoy ruled that the outstanding absentee ballots in question still had to be postmarked by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
But in its ruling (you can read it here), the Supreme Court cited a state law in concluding that “the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration may count only those absentee ballots received by the statutory deadline of 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024.”
The returned ballots of those “affected voters” must be kept separate by Cobb Elections “in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from the other voted ballots” should there be other legal proceedings, and “until the further order of the Court.”
Cobb Elections also was ordered to notify those voters of the 7 p.m. Tuesday deadline.
Cobb Elections Board chairwoman Tori Silas, a Democratic appointee who welcomed Flournoy’s ruling on Friday, said in response to the Supreme Court ruling on Monday that the board will comply with the latter.
She said in a statement issued Monday by Cobb County government that:
“However, because the order only addressed to the motion for a stay, we will anticipate the Supreme Court’s final ruling to see whether it ultimately allow these voters additional time to return their ballots or whether we must only count those received by the close of polls on Tuesday.”
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in Georgia was Oct 25. Cobb Elections said a surge of voters requested absentee ballots as the deadline approached, and those ballots were mailed in expedited fashion.
They received ballots with prepaid overnight return mail.
Those voters can still vote in person or deliver their ballots to the Cobb Elections Office (995 Roswell St., Marietta) between 7-7 Tuesday.
Related:
- Editor’s Note: On elections, early voting and endorsements
- Cobb judge extends deadline for returning 3K absentee ballots
- Voters in East Cobb precinct mailed incorrect polling location
- Cobb Elections Office accepting absentee ballots this weekend
- 7 Cobb libraries to be closed on Election Day for voting
- Former Cobb commissioner Ott opposes transit tax
- Cobb school board candidate profile: John Cristadoro, Post 5
- Cobb school board candidate profile: Laura Judge, Post 5
- MORE: Visit the East Cobb News Politics & Elections Page
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