Election officials work on ballot processing in Gwinnett County, Lawrenceville, Georgia, Nov. 7, 2020.
A Georgia federal judge on Thursday (Dec. 17) reportedly dismissed two Republican Party (GOP) lawsuits, one in Augusta and the other in Atlanta. The two lawsuits challenge absentee voting rules ahead of the crucial Jan. 5 Senate runoff.
In Augusta, U.S. District Judge Randal Hall dismissed a lawsuit that sought to ban the use of drop boxes, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The lawsuit sought to ban the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots and to strengthen signature verification protocols. There are allegations that the current process increases the potential for voter fraud.
In the Augusta lawsuit, the 12th District Republicans argue that rules implemented months ago that allow counties to set up ballot drop boxes and let election officials open ballots before Election Day violate state law and the U.S. Constitution, the report states. The plaintiffs allege that the rules open the door to potential voter fraud and Ballot Harvesting. They also argue for stricter signature verification rules.
Hall said the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit and that the court should not change the rules so close to the election.
He also said the plaintiffs could not show a specific injury resulting from the existing rules.
In Atlanta, U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Georgia Republican Party and the campaigns of state Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The lawsuit seeks to make mail-in ballot signature verification rules stricter.
In dismissing the case, Bloomberg reported that Ross said the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence that the current rules led to voter fraud, calling concerns about such wrongdoing “too speculative.
In the Senate runoff, Perdue and Loeffler will face off against Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. This is a critical race for both parties in terms of who will control the Senate.
Republicans currently hold 50 seats in the Senate, meaning Democrats will have to win both runoffs and the contested presidential election to take control of both the White House and both chambers of Congress.
According to the latest data from Georgia, where early live and absentee voting has begun, more than 900,000 people have cast ballots in the two Senate runoffs, about half of them by mail-in ballot.
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