Georgia Cobb County Undelivered Mail-In Ballots Challenge

Ayota v. Fall

Filed: November 1, 2024

Lawsuit filed by three voters against the members of the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration challenging the board’s failure to send mail-in ballots to an estimated 3,000 voters. Under Georgia state law, county boards of elections must send mail-in ballots within three days to any voter who submits a request before the statewide deadline. The absentee ballot request deadline for the 2024 general election fell on Oct. 25 and every voter who submitted a timely request for a mail-in ballot should have received a ballot by Oct. 28. On Oct. 31, the Cobb County Board of Elections publicly announced that it had not timely delivered over 3,000 ballots and planned to send them via express shipping or overnight delivery the following day.

The plaintiffs argue that the board’s plan is insufficient because even if all these ballots reach voters before Election Day, there is not enough time to ensure they can be returned in time to be counted. The three plaintiffs, including two college students attending universities out of state and a voter who is legally blind, are unable to vote in person and could potentially be disenfranchised. They ask the court to order the county board of elections to extend the ballot receipt deadline for all the affected voters from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8, which is the same deadline for overseas voters to return their ballots under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

The Republican National Committee and Georgia Republican Party intervened to prevent Cobb County from extending its ballot receipt deadline.

The court extended the absentee ballot receipt deadline to Nov. 8 for all affected voters and ordered county election officials to notify those voters of the extended deadline.

On Nov. 1, 2024, the Republican intervenors appealed this case to the Georgia Supreme Court.

On Nov. 4, 2024, the Georgia Supreme Court granted the Republican intervenors request to block the trial court’s ruling, keeping the deadline for the affected voters to return their absentee ballots at Nov. 5.

STATUS: On Nov. 6, the plaintiffs withdrew their appeal and the Georgia Supreme Court lifted the Nov. 4 stay, allowing ballots received from affected voters by 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 to be counted.