ATLANTA _ A federal judge on Monday extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be returned in Georgia, ruling that they must be counted if postmarked by Election Day and delivered up to three days afterward.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross wrote that voters must be protected during the coronavirus pandemic, when record numbers of Georgians are expected to cast absentee ballots.
The decision will likely result in tens of thousands of ballots being counted that would have otherwise been rejected for arriving after 7 p.m. on Election Day. In this year's primary, election officials disqualified at least 8,495 absentee ballots because they were received late, according to state election data.
"Extending the deadline would ensure that voters who receive their ballots shortly before Election Day are able to mail their ballots without fear that their vote will not count," Ross wrote in her 70-page order.
The court order will slow vote counting and election results as officials take time to count all valid ballots.
The secretary of state's office plans to immediately appeal the ruling.
"Extending the absentee ballot receipt deadline is a bad idea that will make it nearly impossible for election officials to complete their required post-election tasks in the timeline that is required by law," said Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs.
The lawsuit by the New Georgia Project, a voter registration group, sought sweeping changes to the state's laws for handling absentee ballots as more voters than ever are using them during the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly half of all votes in Georgia's primary, 1.15 million, were cast via absentee ballot.
Ross denied other changes sought in the lawsuit, including free ballot postage, quick notification of absentee application deficiencies, automatic mailing of absentee ballots to all voters, and ballot collection by third-party organizations.
The Democratic Party of Georgia called the ruling "a huge victory for Georgia voters."
"All Georgians deserve to have their voice heard, and in the midst of a global pandemic, it is the responsibility of our democracy to make voting by mail and early voting options as accessible as possible," said Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams.
Attorneys for Georgia had warned that delaying the absentee deadline could result in chaos as election results hang in the balance. Election officials will have to scramble to count ballots quickly and verify that absentee ballots were in fact postmarked by Nov. 3.
State law requires election results to be certified 17 days after the election, by Nov. 20.
"The court notes it is reluctant to interfere with Georgia's statutory election machinery. However, where the risk of disenfranchisement is great, as is the case here, narrowly tailored injunctive relief is appropriate," Ross wrote.
Georgia joins 18 other states that accept absentee ballots after Election Day if they're postmarked beforehand, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The U.S. Postal Service has said that mail delivery delays could hold up absentee ballots. Voters should mail their completed ballots at least a week in advance of Election Day, by Oct. 27, according to a USPS letter to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Georgia voters can also cast absentee ballots without having to rely on the Postal Service. Many counties have set up drop boxes where voters can deposit their ballots until polls close on Election Day.
Voters can request absentee ballots through a website created by Raffensperger's office at ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov. Then absentee ballots will begin to be mailed in late September.
