In a recent development in Georgia's Cobb County, certain voters who received their absentee ballots late will still have their votes counted under specific conditions. The county, located just north of Atlanta, failed to send out absentee ballots to approximately 3,400 voters who had requested them until late last week.
According to Georgia law, absentee ballots must typically be received by the close of polls on Election Day. However, a lower court judge ruled last week that the affected ballots could be counted if they were postmarked by Tuesday and received by Friday, three days after Election Day.
The Georgia Supreme Court intervened in this matter on Monday by issuing an order to stay the lower court's ruling. The high court instructed county election officials to inform the impacted voters that their ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Subsequently, on Wednesday, the day after the elections, the high court sought input from the involved parties to determine if they wished to continue with the appeal.
The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party, who had initiated the appeal against the lower court ruling, decided to withdraw their appeal. Consequently, the high court granted their request and lifted the stay, thereby reinstating the lower court's decision.
As a result, ballots from the affected voters will be included in the official election results of the county if they were postmarked by Tuesday and are received by 5 p.m. on Friday.
