The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Cobb County cannot accept absentee ballots received after Election Day.
The decision comes as Cobb County officials admitted they were behind in mailing more than 3,000 absentee ballots.
A lower court judge previously ruled that voters who receive their ballots late can still have their votes counted if the ballots are postmarked by Election Day and returned by November 8, three days after the election.
According to the order, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration “may count only those absentee ballots received by the statutory deadline of 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024.”
“The Board shall keep separate the absentee ballots of any ‘Affected Voters’ —as identified by the trial court’s November 1, 2024 order— that are received by the Board after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024, and on or before 5:00 p.m. on November 8, 2024, in a secure, safe, and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,” the decision continued.
RNC chairman Michael Whatley called the decision a “victory” for the state of Georgia.
“HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia,” he wrote on X. “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 after.”
“We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates,” Whatley added.
