In scathing rebuke, federal judge in Georgia rejects RNC emergency request to toss absentee ballots

A federal judge in Georgia on Tuesday rejected a request by the Republican National Committee to put aside some absentee votes that it argues were improperly collected.

The RNC sued seven heavily Democratic counties in George, Politico reports, arguing that, in accepting hand-delivered ballots, the counties had improperly collected them. State officials claim the practice is legal. 

U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, a Trump appointee, ruled that the RNC’s complaint was based on a misreading of state law, which the GOP were conflating “early voting,” which ended Friday, with absentee voting, which continues through Election Day. 

Baker said the RNC’s complaint had “no supporting facts” and was only an attempt to “tip the scales of this election by discriminating against” people more likely to vote Democrat. Baker further excoriated the lawyers who filed the case, saying they had appeared to “cherry-pick” counties based on their political affiliation.