A judge in Georgia’s Fulton County on Thursday dismissed a Republican lawsuit seeking to close absentee ballot drop boxes after normal business hours, according to multiple reports.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams ruled that the court did not have jurisdiction in the case, according to the Journal-Constitution.
The Senate runoffs, which pit Perdue and Loeffler against Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, is key for both parties, with control of the upper chamber hanging in the balance. Republicans currently hold 50 seats in the Senate, meaning Democrats need to win both runoffs and also prevail in the contested presidential election to gain control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday called on Georgia lawmakers to consider a measure that would limit absentee voting by limiting “no excuse” absentee voting, citing the potential for fraud.
“It makes no sense when we have three weeks of in-person, early voting available,” Raffensperger told a House Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, according to WSB-TV Atlanta. “It opens the door to potential illegal voting, especially in light of the federal rules that denies the ability to keep voter registration files clean.”
Voting rights groups oppose the measure.
“Georgia has long had no-excuse absentee voting, long before we were in this pandemic moment,” said Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, in remarks to WSB-TV Atlanta. “Any attempt to curb it, or get rid of it is partisan and anti-democratic.”
Sixteen states require a justification to vote by mail.