Republicans are taking aim at Democratic strongholds in Georgia that opened locations this weekend for voters to return their absentee ballots in person.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a new lawsuit Sunday after a state judge one day prior rejected allegations that deep-blue Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, was violating Georgia’s election law over its extension.
Republicans cite a provision that mandates drop boxes close when in-person early voting, known as advance voting in Georgia, concludes, which it did Friday.
The new case challenges both Fulton and six other Democratic-leaning counties that have similarly continued to accept hand-delivered absentee ballots through the weekend.
It was filed in federal court and claims the practice violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and its delegation of elections authority to state legislatures.
“The county’s actions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by granting special privileges to voters of those counties in violation of state law, thus arbitrarily and disparately affecting against voters and candidates in other counties,” the lawsuit states.