Comment on this story
comment
ATLANTA — A Georgia judge has ruled that early voting can take place on Saturday in the closely watched Senate runoff election between Democratic incumbent Raphael G. Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.
In a ruling Friday afternoon, Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. found that a provision of the Georgia election code cited by the secretary of state that prohibits Saturday voting “does not specifically prohibit counties from conducting advance voting on Saturday, November 26, 2022.” , for a second round”.
The court further noted that “there is an absence of settled law on this specific issue” in Georgia, but that the intent of the state legislature was “obvious” in omitting any specific reference to a second election in the law.
As Republicans worry, Democrats welcome Trump’s shadow in Georgia Senate runoff
The ruling is a victory for Democrats and voting rights advocates, who had argued that the laws in question were vague and did not apply to a runoff.
Officials in the secretary of state’s office had initially ruled that Saturday’s vote could take place in this year’s runoff election before backtracking after discovering a provision of the election code that prohibited the voting on the days following a holiday. The Saturday in question in the case would be two days after Thanksgiving and one day after a state holiday that until 2015 honored Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Democrats filed the lawsuit shortly after the state issued guidance to counties advising them not to vote on Saturday.
“I’m delighted with the judge’s ruling. Obviously, I think it was the right call,” Warnock said at a rally on the Georgia Tech campus Friday evening. “We should want all eligible voters to have the opportunity to vote, and not having a vote on Saturday disproportionately affects working class people in an adverse way.”
“I want to encourage everyone to vote early and make sure your voice is heard,” she added.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said the ruling should not be the end of the road on this issue.
“We disagree with the court’s order and look forward to an expeditious appeal,” Raffensperger said in a statement.
The decision on whether to appeal the case will be made by Republican Chris Carr, the state’s attorney general. The appeals court could issue a stay order to prevent counties from allowing the Nov. 26 vote.
Walker’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Georgia Senate race is in a runoff. This is how it works.
The ruling does not necessarily mean that the vote will be held on Saturday; Georgia counties must decide whether to hold early voting hours on Nov. 26, which requires more time and resources from poll workers and election staff. There is also more litigation if the case is appealed.
“The judge made it very clear that the text, structure and history of the election code do not match the literal, tortured interpretation of the state law to block the Saturday vote,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, professor of constitutional law and legal history. at Georgia State University. “It doesn’t make sense to apply the same standards to a runoff election as we would to a general election with several weeks of early voting.”
Chatham, Cobb, Dekalb and Fulton counties already passed activation policies that would order poll workers to conduct Saturday’s voting if the court ruled it legal.
Sabrina Rodriguez contributed to this report.