Civil rights groups asks Georgia court to extend deadline for returning absentee ballots

Civil rights groups are requesting that a Georgia court extend the deadline for returning absentee ballots for over 3,000 voters after Cobb County announced on Thursday that it was delayed in sending out the ballots.

A lawsuit filed Friday calls for an emergency order requiring county election officials to immediately mail ballots to affected voters and provide a “fast and reliable” return option at no cost. The groups are asking the court to ensure ballots are counted if postmarked by Election Day and received by November 8. Currently, ballots are due back by November 5.

Cobb County attributed the delay to a “surge of last-minute absentee ballot applications” and stated that election workers would send most ballots via USPS Express Mail or UPS Overnight Delivery by Friday morning. However, the 15-page lawsuit, filed on behalf of several voters by the ACLU, ACLU of Georgia, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, argues that this plan may be insufficient to address the delay.