Legal victory for Republicans in Georgia: State Supreme Court cancels extension of 3,000 delayed election ballots

The Republican National Committee celebrated a major legal victory in Georgia on Monday, just one day before the 2024 presidential election.

Following the Georgia Supreme Court ruling, the RNC celebrated the court's ruling that absentee ballots sent late to voters in Cobb County will only be counted if they reach election officials before Election Day, with no extensions or delay.

"HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia. Democrat-run Cobb County wanted to accept 3,000 absentee ballots AFTER the Election Day deadline. We took this case to the Georgia Supreme Court," RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said on X. "We just got word that we WON the case. Election Day is Election Day – not the week after. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates."

The high court's decision and the RNC's celebration comes a week after it was revealed that about 3,000 mail-in ballots were sent late to voters in Cobb County. 

On Friday, Nov. 1, a Cobb judge ruled that the county Board of Elections could count the ballots if they arrived by 5 p.m. Nov. 8 - three days after the election - and were postmarked by 7 p.m. Nov. 5.

On Monday, however, the state's high court granted an emergency motion ruling that the county's late ballots would only be counted if received by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"Consistent with OCGA § 21-2-386, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration (the ‘Board’) may count only those absentee ballots received by the statutory deadline of 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 5, 2024," read the order, held by Republicans in Georgia and across the country.

Georgia is one of the most determinative states in the current election cycle. In 2020, it was the epicenter of a close fight between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, which ended up falling to the Democrat by a narrow margin. The Senate majority was also defined in a Georgia contest.