ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a populous Georgia county not to reject absentee ballots because the voter’s birth year is missing or wrong.
The order issued Tuesday by U.S. Judge Leigh May says rejecting absentee ballots solely because of a missing or incorrect birth year violates the Civil Rights Act.
She ordered Gwinnett County election officials not to reject those ballots and to count any that were cast in the Nov. 6 midterm election. She also ordered Gwinnett County to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.
The order stems from requests filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and by Democratic congressional candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux.
The race between Bourdeaux and Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District remains too close to call.
