Georgia Court Decision Puts Thousands Of Votes At Risk

MARIETTA, Ga. — About 3,400 voters in a key Georgia county received their mail-in ballots just days ago, or not at all — and on Monday, the state’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling that gave them extra time to get their ballots in.

That means thousands of voters have to turn in their mail-in ballots in person by 7 p.m. Tuesday, vote at a polling place on Election Day — or risk being disenfranchised. 

Gregory, who asked that his last name not be used, received his mail-in ballot on Friday, even though he requested it in time. The Postal Service and election officials previously recommended mailing in ballots at least a week before Election Day.

Gregory delivered his mail-in ballot in person to the Cobb County elections office Tuesday. But he was worried about others who may be affected.

“Especially if they don’t have a car, it’s going to be hard,” he told HuffPost after dropping off the ballot. “It’s going to be a problem for them.” 

Sheena Grantz, who also dropped off a ballot Tuesday, said her and her wife’s ballots had arrived on time, but her brother’s never arrived at all. Luckily, she said, “We found a TikTok about it, so I sent it to him.” 

“I just found out about that stuff last night,” Grantz told HuffPost of the legal fight over the ballots. “I sent him everything, told him he needs to follow up about it. I think he’s on the way [to vote in person] now.” 

Another voter, who declined to give his name, said his ballot arrived in the mail Saturday. 

According to the county, the issue was a surge of requests for mail-in ballots in the final days of the application window, as well as timing issues with a state-approved vendor and other problems with county printing equipment. More than 1,000 of the affected absentee ballots were being sent out of state, the county said.

After the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center filed an emergency suit over the late-delivered ballots last week, a judge ruled Friday that affected voters whose ballots were postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day would still be counted, as long as the ballots arrived at election offices by Friday.