A federal judge ruled against Republicans in a challenge to Democratic strongholds in Georgia that opened locations over the weekend and Monday for voters to return their absentee ballots in person.
U.S. District Judge Stan Baker said Tuesday that the Republican National Committee and state Republicans “would not likely succeed” on the merits of their claim, declining their request to set aside about 2,000 absentee ballots returned by hand over the weekend and Monday.
“The plaintiffs cannot satisfy their burden,” he said, later adding that Republicans’ claim is “factually and legally incorrect.”
State and national Republicans filed the lawsuit Sunday, asserting that the counties’ practice violated the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and its delegation of elections authority to state legislatures. The lawsuit came........