Georgia judge rejects Republican lawsuit seeking to block acceptance of hand-returned mail ballots in Fulton County

A Georgia judge rejected a Republican lawsuit trying to stop counties from opening election offices on the weekend for voters to hand in their mail ballots. The lawsuit targeted Fulton County, but other Democratic-leaning counties also allowed ballot hand-ins over the weekend. The lawsuit claimed that voters couldn’t hand-deliver absentee ballots, but the judge ruled against that argument. Despite initial confusion, Fulton County clarified that the process should be open to the public. Republicans have long been critical of Fulton County’s election practices, but the judge’s ruling allowed voters to hand in their ballots in person over the weekend.