Bourdeaux campaign asks judge to allow more absentee ballots to count
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Seventh District Congressional candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux asked a federal judge Thursday to widen her order so more disputed absentee ballots will be counted.
The court action comes as Gwinnett County election officials are spending Thursday counting previously disputed absentee votes.
The Bourdeaux campaign filed a new emergency motion in federal court Thursday asking the judge to reconsider part of their ruling.
U.S. District Judge Leigh May ruled Tuesday that Gwinnett County had to count absentee ballots with missing or wrong birth information, but she denied requests to count Gwinnett County ballots with address issues or missing signatures.
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The Bourdeaux team wants to Judge May to now allow those ballots with address issues or missing signatures.
As of Thursday afternoon, Bourdeaux trailed incumbent Republican Rob Woodall by 533 votes.
The vote count listed on the Secretary of State’s Office shows Woodall with 140,279 votes or 50.10 percent and Bourdeaux with 139,746 votes or 49.90 percent. Forsyth County also makes up Georgia's 7th Congressional District.
According to a news release from Bourdeaux campaign, Forsyth County’s Voter Registrations and Election Director said her county does not reject absentee ballots based solely on missing information on the Ballot return envelope such as address, date, and year of birth.
The campaign claims Gwinnett County rejected more than 1,500 absentee ballots while Forsyth County only rejected 28 absentee ballots.
Bourdeaux's lawsuit comes on the heels of a federal judge's ruling late Wednesday that the secretary of state must confirm that each county's vote tally includes absentee ballots on which the voter's date of birth is missing or incorrect.
The order stems from a request in a lawsuit filed Sunday by the campaign of Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor.
But U.S. District Judge Steve Jones rejected several other requests from the Abrams campaign.
Judge Jones declined to extend the period during which evidence could be submitted to prove the eligibility of voters who cast provisional ballots. He also declined to order that provisional ballots cast by voters who went to a precinct in the wrong county be counted.
After Judge Jones’ ruling, a spokesman for Republican nominee Brian Kemp praised the ruling.
In a news release, Kemp Communications Director Ryan Mahoney said, "This ruling solidifies Brian Kemp's insurmountable lead. The election is over and Brian Kemp is the Governor-elect. It's time for Abrams to concede and join our efforts to keep Georgia moving in the right direction."