Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams filed a lawsuit in federal court on Sunday to force Georgia Counties to accept rejected ballots that could trigger a runoff election in her race against Governor-elect Brian Kemp.
Kemp currently holds a slight lead over Abrams by a margin of 2.3 points.
In an effort to find more votes, Abrams’s lawsuit asked county officials to accept provisional and absentee ballots even if they contained “slight” errors, such as names misspelled or incorrect addresses that don’t match voter registrations.
In a ruling late Monday, Federal Judge Amy Totenberg ordered Georgia officials to wait until Friday, Nov. 16, to certify the results of the midterm elections which were held on Nov. 6.
Judge Totenberg also ordered election officials to ensure provisional ballots aren’t “improperly rejected” and to wait until Friday at 5 p.m. to certify the results of the midterm elections.
The judge’s ruling falls within the letter of the law which calls for midterm results to be certified by Nov. 20.
Judge Totenberg asked the state to establish and publicize a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted.
The judge also asked Georgia counties with 100 or more provisional ballots to review the eligibility of voters who cast provisional ballots to ensure all voters are legal citizens.
Kemp resigned from his position as Georgia secretary of state last week before declaring himself the winner of the gubernatorial race.
But Abrams refuses to concede until she says all the votes are counted.
Kemp’s camp called Abrams’ efforts to find more ballots a “disgrace to democracy” and is “completely ignoring the will of the people.”
Kemp’s campaign communications director Ryan Mahoney said in a statement, “Georgia voters have spoken. It’s time for Abrams to listen and concede immediately.”
But Abrams said she is only “fighting” for democracy by making sure all votes are counted.
“I am fighting to make sure our democracy works for and represents everyone who has ever put their faith in it,” Abrams said. “I am fighting for every Georgian who cast a ballot with the promise that their vote would count.”
