A hearing is starting now in the Superior Court of Chatham County, Ga., in the Trump campaign's petition seeking an order ensuring absentee ballots that arrive after the state's Election Day deadline aren't counted, stay tuned. Here's the petition: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7310… 
Jonathan Crumley for the Trump campaign begins by making clear the case is only about ballots that arrived after the state's Election Day deadline for absentee ballots, not to stop counting legally cast ballots: "Nobody is seeking to stop the counting of any legal ballots"
Recall the 11th Circuit reinstated Georgia's Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots, reversing a lower court judge who had extended the deadline
https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1312145691813146625
Ben Perkins for Chatham County: "There's no evidence that the Board of Registrars does not already comply with Georgia law." He says an official is prepared to testify that the 53 ballots the Trump campaign's affiant questioned were properly handled
Trump campaign's affiant Sean Pumphrey, a poll watcher, says he saw 53 ballots placed on a table separate from ballots in bins ready to go out to be counted. Chatham County lawyer asks if he had evidence those ballots arrived after 7pm on Election Day. He says he doesn't know.
Trump campaign presents another witness poll watcher who says he asked questions about the chain of custody for the 53 ballots at issue, and wasn't clear why they were added separately. Chatham Cty lawyer again asks if he has evidence those ballots arrived late, witness says no
Back to Chatham Cty, GA: An election official testified the 53 ballots the Trump campaign questioned were, in fact, received by GA's Election Day deadline, saying they were handled separately because they didn't show up on a manifest of absentee voters so they had to be checked
New: The Chatham County judge has denied the Trump campaign's petition and dismissed the case after hearing evidence and arguments — county's lawyer argued they were complying with the law re: handling absentee ballots, and there was no ev. of late ballots being mingled/counted
Here's the written order from a Chatham County judge denying the Trump campaign's petition — he concludes there was no evidence the 53 absentee ballots at issue were received after the Election Day deadline, and no evidence the county failed to comply with the law
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
