The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a lower-court ruling that gave some Cobb County voters more time to return their absentee ballots.
Last week, the county scrambled to send out more than 3,000 ballots to voters who requested them at the Oct. 25 deadline, but the county was delayed in mailing them because the requests came in too late for the state’s approved printing vendor, and the county’s own printing equipment was broken.
Last week two civil rights groups sued to give those voters more time to return the ballots. A superior court judge granted the request. The Supreme Court set aside that ruling but ordered the ballots to be secured, pending a final order.
On Wednesday, the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party withdrew their appeal of the superior court judge’s decision. The Supreme Court granted the motion and allowed the lower court’s order to take effect. That means Cobb must count the disputed ballots if they were postmarked by 7 p.m. Election Day and received by 5 p.m. Friday.
“This change means that plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including many first-time voters, will have their voices recorded in this election,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.
Staff writer Katherine Landergan contributed to this article.
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