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