(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that Democratic-led Cobb County may only count absentee ballots received by Election Day.
The ruling marked a significant GOP victory after Republicans challenged Cobb County’s plan to accept more than 3,000 absentee ballots submitted after Election Day.
The county’s unlawful extension came after election officials failed to deliver absentee ballots on time, hindering some voters’ ability to submit them by Election Day.
In a statement posted on X, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley hailed the decision as a “HUGE election integrity victory” for the Peach State.
HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia.
Democrat-run Cobb County wanted to accept 3,000 absentee ballots AFTER the Election Day deadline. We took this case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
We just got word that we WON the case. Election Day is Election Day — not the week…
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) November 4, 2024
“We took this case to the Georgia Supreme Court. We just got word that we WON the case,” Whatley wrote. “Election Day is Election Day — not the week after. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates.”
The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision upheld the Fifth Circuit’s prior ruling that ballots delivered after Nov. 5 would not be counted, according to the RNC.
A lower court had previously argued that the extension was necessary to protect affected voters after the county’s ballot-delivery mishaps.
Cobb County, a Democratic stronghold outside Atlanta, went to Joe Biden in 2020, with 56.3 percent of the vote to Donald Trump’s 42 percent.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which launched the lawsuit seeking to keep the extension, condemned the decision in a press release, urging Cobb County voters to vote in person on Election Day or hand-deliver their absentee ballots “as soon as possible.”
The ACLU advised those unable to vote in person or hand-deliver ballots to mail them overnight to county offices.
“Unfortunately, there are voters who will not be able to access the remaining options and will not have their voices heard in this election as a result of this ruling,” the ACLU wrote.
