As voting soon begins, lawmakers are keeping a close eye on election officials to ensure a repeat of the 2020 election does not happen again.
On Saturday, Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer rejected a lawsuit filed by Republicans seeking to block counties from opening election offices so voters could hand in their mail ballots in person on Saturday and Sunday. At least five counties that historically vote Democrat announced that they would keep election offices open throughout the weekend to allow hand return of absentee ballots.
The attorney representing the Republicans. Alex Kaufman argued that ballots should not be allowed to be hand-delivered between the close of early in-person voting on Friday and the beginning of Election Day on Tuesday.
However, Farmer said that he finds "that it is not a violation of those two code sections for a voter to hand-return their absentee ballots."
Following former President Donald Trump’s efforts to file a lawsuit against the Democrat stronghold of Fulton County, Georgia, the state’s Republican Party accused election officials of “illegally” accepting ballots after Georgia’s November 1 in-person early voting deadline.
State Republicans issued a press release after election officials announced that Fulton County would “extend hours” throughout the weekend to “accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.”
It has come to our attention that Fulton County election officials are planning to open four election offices this weekend ‘to accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.’ This is a blatant violation of Georgia law, subsection (d) of Code Section 21-2-385, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-382 which states ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends. This must be stopped immediately and those willfully breaking Georgia law should be held accountable. To make matters worse, the four election office locations are situated in areas of the county that will clearly favor Democrat candidates. We are calling on state officials to take immediate action to stop this and maintain confidence in Georgia’s election integrity. Fulton County’s patently illegal acts give us no choice but to immediately file suit.
Fulton County has been scrutinized for its shady voting processes, in which President Joe Biden secured 12,000 more votes than former President Donald Trump in 2020 thanks to its drawn-out voting process.
In a significant win for the GOP, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said that poll watchers will now be allowed inside Georgia counting centers after being unable to.
Early Saturday, Fulton County Registration Manager Kathryn Glenn informed county officials that poll watchers would not be allowed to oversee the process of arriving at the new mail-in ballots.
“FYI – There are NO WATCHERS approved for ballot drop off! Do not let them in the building,” she wrote in an email to election officials. “If they want to observe from the parking lot, you can’t stop that, but they are not allowed to sit in the building. Have your security detail enforce it!!”
However, Georgia Republicans quickly took legal action, and a few hours later, the rule had been changed.
UPDATE:
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) November 2, 2024
Following our efforts, our poll watchers have now been let into the building in all four Georgia counties.
Our lawsuit over the offices remaining open is still pending, but we have eyes in the room as votes are being counted.
We will continue our aggressive efforts to… https://t.co/4ZIclsbnpT