Elections Georgia Election: Absentee Ballots with wrong signatures can no longer be automatically rejected

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Federal judge proposes halt on absentee ballot rejections in Georgia
By Curt Devine and Gregory Krieg, CNN | October 24, 2018



Georgia election officials must stop rejecting absentee ballots with voters' signatures that do not appear to match those on record, a federal judge said Wednesday.

Two federal lawsuits have charged that election officials in Gwinnett County, located northeast of Atlanta, have violated voters' rights by rejecting hundreds of absentee ballots, some of which were tossed due to "signature mismatch" issues.

US District Judge Leigh Martin May issued a proposed ruling that would prohibit election officials from rejecting absentee ballots due to alleged signature mismatches, but said the parties in the case would have until noon Thursday to comment on the instructions for handling those situations.

The proposed order stated that county officials would be required to mark absentee ballots with signature mismatches as provisional, send voters pre-rejection notices and resolve issues within three days after Election Day.

Sophia Lakin, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed one of the lawsuits, said that although Georgia election officials can suggest changes to the judge's proposed instructions, the ruling shows a loosening of restrictions.

"This ruling protects the people of Georgia from those who seek to undermine their right to vote. It's a huge victory, especially with the midterms just days away," Lakin said.

Joe Sorenson, a spokesperson for Gwinnett County, said the county is reviewing the judge's preliminary injunction order and will provide its comments to the court by Thursday.

In total, election officials in Georgia have rejected 157 absentee ballots for signature mismatch issues, according to state data analyzed by CNN Wednesday. More than 881,000 absentee ballots have been cast.

Gwinnett County has also faced criticism from voting rights activists who say the rejections disproportionately affect minority voters. The county has rejected more than 600 absentee ballots as of Wednesday, though only a small fraction of those were tossed for signature mismatches. Others were rejected for missing birthdates, address discrepancies and other reasons.

Some voters in Gwinnett County told CNN last week that they found the rejections confusing.

Lilieth Walters, whose ballot was tossed due to a signature issue, said she did not know her ballot was rejected until CNN told her.

"What was the issue with my signature?" she asked. "Maybe I didn't sign the same way I normally do, but ... a signature shouldn't prevent one from voting."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/10/24/...tee-voter-court-ruling-kemp-abrams/index.html
 
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The judge's order is to the effect that Georgia can no longer reject signatures on the basis of a mismatch without notifying the person.

The reason for this is that there is a very high risk that someone's vote isn't counted because they don't have a consistent signature.
 
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what is the point of a signature if it doesn't have to match?
 
Glad I ain't in GA. <wonders if my absentee ballots here are being tossed>
 
Voter suppression is for bitches. Fuck you Brian Kemp.
 
what is the point of a signature if it doesn't have to match?

It's almost as if a persons signature can vary from time to time depending on what they may be signing.

The reality is the people rejecting these ballots have no training in handwriting analysis and there were no provisions in place to inform the others their vote was being rejected.
 
It's almost as if a persons signature can vary from time to time depending on what they may be signing.

The reality is the people rejecting these ballots have no training in handwriting analysis and there were no provisions in place to inform the others their vote was being rejected.
first part is unrealistic, second part is fine. you are saying just accept them all or hire pros to look all these over.
 
Federal judge proposes halt on absentee ballot rejections in Georgia
By Curt Devine and Gregory Krieg, CNN Wed October 24, 2018


Georgia election officials must stop rejecting absentee ballots with voters' signatures that do not appear to match those on record, a federal judge said Wednesday.

Two federal lawsuits have charged that election officials in Gwinnett County, located northeast of Atlanta, have violated voters' rights by rejecting hundreds of absentee ballots, some of which were tossed due to "signature mismatch" issues.

US District Judge Leigh Martin May issued a proposed ruling that would prohibit election officials from rejecting absentee ballots due to alleged signature mismatches, but said the parties in the case would have until noon Thursday to comment on the instructions for handling those situations.

The proposed order stated that county officials would be required to mark absentee ballots with signature mismatches as provisional, send voters pre-rejection notices and resolve issues within three days after Election Day.

Sophia Lakin, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed one of the lawsuits, said that although Georgia election officials can suggest changes to the judge's proposed instructions, the ruling shows a loosening of restrictions.

"This ruling protects the people of Georgia from those who seek to undermine their right to vote. It's a huge victory, especially with the midterms just days away," Lakin said.

Joe Sorenson, a spokesperson for Gwinnett County, said the county is reviewing the judge's preliminary injunction order and will provide its comments to the court by Thursday.

In total, election officials in Georgia have rejected 157 absentee ballots for signature mismatch issues, according to state data analyzed by CNN Wednesday. More than 881,000 absentee ballots have been cast.

Gwinnett County has also faced criticism from voting rights activists who say the rejections disproportionately affect minority voters. The county has rejected more than 600 absentee ballots as of Wednesday, though only a small fraction of those were tossed for signature mismatches. Others were rejected for missing birthdates, address discrepancies and other reasons.

Some voters in Gwinnett County told CNN last week that they found the rejections confusing.

Lilieth Walters, whose ballot was tossed due to a signature issue, said she did not know her ballot was rejected until CNN told her.

"What was the issue with my signature?" she asked. "Maybe I didn't sign the same way I normally do, but ... a signature shouldn't prevent one from voting."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/10/24/...tee-voter-court-ruling-kemp-abrams/index.html

What's wrong with notifying people of an issue with their signature and requiring them to rectify it? Imagine someone with cast on their writing arm having a different looking signature and not being able to vote or perhaps a stroke victim? All this does is give people 3 days to explain the descrepancy before the ballot is tossed.
 
what is the point of a signature if it doesn't have to match?
it's arbitrary judgement. Many people don't sign things the same way every time. If we're going to start governing signature accuracy...forget it. This was an obvious way to reject certain people for political reasons. Stop acting like this was some legit action in the first place.
 
it's arbitrary judgement. Many people don't sign things the same way every time. If we're going to start governing signature accuracy...forget it. This was an obvious way to reject certain people for political reasons. Stop acting like this was some legit action in the first place.
Just accept them all no verification necessary
 
Signatures are a dumb, outdated way to try and prove jist about anything. Only in a really extreme case should it be looked at by a laymen.

A lot of people don't craft perfected, individualized signatures because most people aren't signing official documents on a normal basis.
Would Trump do his goofy, scribble signature on a McDonald's bill?
 
No problem with that. That is a pretty dumb rule, that couldn't possibly be consistently enforced.
 
My signature can be all over the place so I actually approve of this.
 
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