Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley announced a victory for election integrity in Georgia after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that absentee ballots received after election day will not be counted.
“HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia,” Whatley wrote in a post on Monday on X after the RNC and Georgia Republican party appealed a decision on Friday by a lower court after the ACLU filed a lawsuit in the swing state claiming that some 3,000 voters in Cobb county didn’t get their mail-in ballots on time, Fox News reported.
“Democrat-run Cobb County wanted to accept 3,000 absentee ballots AFTER the Election Day deadline,” he added. “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 after. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates.”
The state Supreme Court took up the Emergency motion and said in its ruling that only those “absentee ballots received by the statutory deadline of 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024” can be counted.
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
The GOP Chair’s post comes following Cobb County Judge Robert Flournoy’s decision in the ACLU’s favor that ordered that ballots must be sent overnight to the affected voters. He also ruled that ballots-if postmarked by Election Day-could be counted as late as Nov. 8 at 5 p.m.
“We commend the court for prioritizing the voices of over 3,000 Cobb County voters who deserve to have their ballots counted,” Theresa J. Lee, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project said, at the time. “This decision helps voters who followed the proper procedures to now have a chance to participate in this election, despite the county’s unfortunate administrative errors.”
A federal appeals court in Mississippi recently ruled in the GOP’s favor in another suit that argued mail-in ballots received after Election Day were illegal, The Hill reported. However, it is unclear if that ruling will affect the 2024 election. The current law allows for mail-in ballots to be received for up to five days after Election Day.
Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel that, “Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day. And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days. The State’s contrary law is preempted.”
“Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election’ of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors,” the panel added. “Text, precedent and historical practice confirm this ‘day for the election’ is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials.”
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley released a statement about the Mississippi ruling, calling it a “major win for election integrity, upholding the law and commonsense ballot safeguards.”
The appeals court ruling now sends the decision back to the lower court to decide whether the statute will be blocked immediately or whether it’s too close to Election Day 2024 to make the changes, The Hill noted.
Related: Nevada Supreme Court Rules On Counting Ballots Received After Election Day Without Postmarks
