ACLU sues Georgia county over alleged failure to send out election ballots in timely manner

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center sued a Georgia county on Friday, over allegations that it failed to send out approximately 3,000 absentee ballots by a requested deadline.

Georgia state law allows voters to request absentee ballots up until 11 days before the election, but they must be returned by Election Day. In the lawsuit, the civil rights groups asked a judge to extend the ballot deadline by three days, to Nov. 8.

Cobb County said it did not anticipate so many absentee ballot requests this year, after the requests surged to 750 per day in the final week, according to Reuters. There were also 985 requests submitted on the Oct. 25 deadline alone.

"Unfortunately, we were unprepared for the surge in requests and lacked the necessary equipment to process the ballots quickly," Cobb County Board of Elections Chairwoman Tori Silas told the outlet.

County officials also said that as of Wednesday, the ballots had still not been sent out. But the county is working with postal and delivery companies to expedite the ballots and get a fast turnaround. 

"With Election Day approaching, these voters are still without their absentee ballots," the ACLU said in a statement. "Without immediate action, these voters may be denied their constitutional right to vote."

Cobb County is a racially diverse county in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, and could be a crucial spot for Democrats. More than 3.8 million residents in Georgia have voted so far, which is more than half the state's population. At least 23,000 of those votes were absentee.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.