Georgia Supreme Court Rules on Early Voting Saturday in US Senate Runoff Election

Georgia’s Supreme Court has denied a Republican motion to block early voting in the December 6 runoff election for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Republican groups had argued that early voting should be prohibited, citing a state law that prevents in-person early voting on a Saturday if preceded by a holiday. 

Fox 5 reported that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. heard arguments last Friday and announced his decision on Wednesday morning.

Incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) faces a fierce challenge from Herschel Walker (R). Warnock won the popular vote in the November midterm election but failed to secure the required majority, which led to the December 6 special election. 

The state Supreme Court denied the motion to block early voting without comment. The Warnock campaign successfully argued that the provision cited by Republicans did not apply to statewide runoff elections and that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger “misreads” and “cherry-picks” state election laws. 

Warnock’s push to allow early voting was supported by the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. 

The Court’s ruling upholds a lower court’s decision to approve early voting in the runoff election.

Raffensperger released a statement following the ruling:

“Senator Warnock and his Democratic Party allies are seeking to change Georgia law right before an election based on their political preferences. Instead of muddying the water and pressuring counties to ignore Georgia law, Senator Warnock should be allowing county election officials to continue preparations for the upcoming runoff.”