Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley announced that poll watchers will now be permitted inside Georgia’s counting centers, reversing an earlier directive in a significant win for the GOP and Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Republicans are initiating multiple legal challenges following announcements from several Georgia counties that they would continue accepting early ballots beyond the November 1 deadline.
In response to election officials in several Democratic strongholds, including Fulton County, stating that polling locations would remain open over the weekend, Georgia Republicans have accused them of “illegally” accepting ballots in violation of state election law. “It has come to our attention that Fulton County election officials are planning to open four election offices this weekend ‘to accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.’ This is a blatant violation of Georgia law, subsection (d) of Code Section 21-2-385, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-382 which states ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends,’” Georgia Republicans announced in a press release Friday.
“This must be stopped immediately and those willfully breaking Georgia law should be held accountable. To make matters worse, the four election office locations are situated in areas of the county that will clearly favor Democrat candidates,” the release continued. “We are calling on state officials to take immediate action to stop this and maintain confidence in Georgia’s election integrity. Fulton County’s patently illegal acts give us no choice but to immediately file suit.”
On Saturday morning, Fulton County Registration Manager Kathryn Glenn told county officials that poll watchers will not be allowed to supervise the arrival of new mail-in ballots. “FYI – There are NO WATCHERS approved for ballot drop off! Do not let them in the building,” reads the email, which was sent to Fulton County election officials. “If they want to observe from the parking lot, you can’t stop that but they are not allowed to sit in the building. Have your security detail enforce it!!”
Republicans at both the state and national levels quickly filed challenges and called on Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp to take action. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley criticized Democratic officials in Democratic strongholds for “playing fast and loose” with Georgia election laws, announcing that the RNC will be pursuing a lawsuit.
Just hours later, poll watchers were finally able to gain entry to the affected locations.“I have been apprised that after refusing to admit our poll watchers that Fulton County and other counties are now allowing our poll watchers to observe the voting activity occurring today,” Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon announced in an X post.
He further noted that the issue of the extended early voting deadline is being litigated further. “It is unacceptable that the decision was made to open these locations without notice or authorization from any party charged with elections administration. Our legal team is evaluating our next steps with regard to today’s decision allowing this activity in the first place,” the statement continued.
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