Cobb County Communications Director Ross Cavitt distributed the following announcement regarding a Georgia Supreme Court stay of a recent order issued by Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Flournoy III.

The order extended the return deadline for over 3,000 people whose absentee ballots were not distributed by Cobb Elections on time :

The Georgia Supreme Court issued an order on Monday staying a Cobb County judge’s extension to allow absentee ballots to be received through Friday. The judge had granted the extension last week after Cobb County’s Elections Department mailed out approximately 3,400 absentee ballots via express mail just days before the election.

The order in Republican National Committee et al. v. Naomi Ayota et al. requires that all absentee ballots be returned to Cobb County Elections by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

“The Cobb County Board of Elections is aware of and will comply with the Georgia Supreme Court’s order granting a stay,” said Board of Elections and Registration Chairwoman Tori Silas. “However, because the order only addressed to the motion for a stay, we will anticipate the Supreme Court’s final ruling to see whether it ultimately allow these voters additional time to return their ballots or whether we must only count those received by the close of polls on Tuesday.”

The Georgia Supreme Court’s order mandates that Cobb Elections keep all absentee ballots from the affected group that arrive after the deadline “in a secure, safe, and sealed container, separate from other ballots,” pending further court hearings.

Cobb Elections cited a surge of last-minute absentee ballot requests and an equipment failure as reasons for the delay. Voters who requested an absentee ballot but are concerned it will not arrive in time can still vote in person at their assigned precinct on Tuesday. To find their precinct, voters can visit the state’s My Voter Page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

About the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration

On its web page, the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration describes its mission as follows:

“The mission of the Elections Department is to register citizens of Cobb County to vote; to ensure that elections are free, impartial, fair, accurate, convenient and accessible to all voters; to encourage voter participation; to provide excellent customer service to voters, candidates, and the media; and to help the public understand and follow all laws, rules and regulations.

“The Elections Department, with oversight from the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, enforces strict adherence to all current Federal, State and Local laws as well as to State Election Board Rules concerning registering to vote and voting, and serves all citizens in election related matters.”

The board has five members, with two appointed by the state legislative delegation, one each appointed by the Cobb Democratic and Republican parties, and one appointed by the Chairwoman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

Since both the majority of the  legislative delegation and the BOC chairwomanship  is Democratic at this time, appointments by Democrats account for four of the five seats.

Here is the current composition of the board: