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Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley announced on Monday that the Georgia Supreme Court will not allow Cobb County to count 3,000 late absentee ballots after Election Day.
The news came three days after the Georgia Board of Elections said it was sending absentee ballots late and planned to accept them until Nov. 8 as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 5.
“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,” Whatley posted to X.
“We just got word that we WON the case. Election Day is Election Day — not the week after. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates,” he added.
Cobb County’s election officials used U.S. Postal Service express mail and UPS overnight delivery to ensure the late absentee ballots arrived in time for the election.
“We want to maintain voter trust by being transparent about the situation,” county Board of Elections Chairwoman Tori Silas said in a statement Thursday, according to the Associated Press. “We are taking every possible step to get these ballots to the voters who requested them.”
The initial ruling to extend the return of absentee ballots until Nov. 8 came after the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit to change the deadline.
“The ruling to extend the deadline for ballot receipts is a significant win for Cobb County voters using absentee ballots. Our clients and more than 3,000 similarly situated voters will now receive an overnight ballot in the mail, and the extension will ensure that their ballots are properly received and counted,” said Poy Winichakul, senior staff attorney, voting rights, Southern Poverty Law Center, concerning the previous lawsuit. “Through litigation efforts such as this one, we are fighting to protect the ability of voters to exercise their freedom to vote and shape the future of their communities and the nation.”
Following Monday’s ruling, the ACLU and the other groups in the lawsuit encouraged Cobb County voters to cast their ballots in person on Election Day.
