Residents Of Georgia Gearing Up To Vote Day After ‘Thanksgiving’
The State of Georgia asked the Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court’s decision that stated state law permits early voting on that day, but the motion was denied.
Georgia State law prohibits early voting on Saturdays when there is a holiday on the Thursday or Friday before it. Republican Secretary of the State Brad Raffensperger informed county election officials that early voting could not be done on that day
Warnock’s campaign filed a lawsuit last week to contest that advice.
Thanksgiving is on Thursday, while Friday is a state holiday. Before the Senate runoff election between Warnock and Walker next month, the Saturday following the two holidays is the only opportunity for Saturday voting.
Judge Thomas Cox of the Fulton County Superior Court ruled in favor of the Warnock campaign and the Democratic organizations on Friday. He concluded that a runoff election is not covered by the state’s referenced law governing Saturday voting following a holiday.
In a court document, they claimed that not only was the decision flawed procedurally but Cox was also mistaken to view the runoff as a distinct election rather than a continuation of the main election.
The state Court of Appeals refused to suspend the decision of the lower court in a one-sentence opinion on Monday.
Due to the fact that no candidate earned a majority in the state in this month’s midterm elections, Warnock and Walker were pushed into a runoff on December 6.
The time between the general election and the runoff was shortened to four weeks by Georgia’s election legislation of 2021, and Thanksgiving occurs in the middle of that period. Beginning on November 28, only five workdays will be available to Georgians to cast early ballots in person.
