Federal Judge Extends Absentee Voting Deadline, Setting the Stage for Another Trump Campaign Lawsuit
A federal court in Georgia extended a crucial absentee ballot deadline on Monday–giving voters extra time to return their ballots for the upcoming election and giving the Trump campaign a fresh round of fodder for its legal crusade against mail-in voting expansion.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Judge Eleanor Ross issued a 70-page ruling which says the Peach State must accept and count all ballots that are postmarked by election day and received by elections authorities within three days of being mailed.
“The court notes it is reluctant to interfere with Georgia’s statutory election machinery. However, where the risk of disenfranchisement is great, as is the case here, narrowly tailored injunctive relief is appropriate,” Ross wrote. “The court emphasizes that the equitable relief it provides is limited to the November 2020 election during these extraordinary times.”
The decision in the lawsuit brought by the New Georgia Project is focused on five aspects of Georgia’s absentee voting system. Ultimately, Ross determined that the voting rights-focused plaintiffs failed to make their case on most of those challenges.
She did find, however, that Georgia’s law requiring “that absentee ballots must be delivered to a county election official by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day” is likely an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote and in violation of procedural Due Process. (Read more from “Federal Judge Extends Absentee Voting Deadline, Setting the Stage for Another Trump Campaign Lawsuit” HERE)
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