The Latest: Georgia governor’s race

November 15, 2018

Collins Parker,

ATLANTA (AP) – The Latest on the disputed election count for Georgia governor (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

Georgia election officials say counties will review absentee ballots and count those previously rejected for missing or incorrect dates of birth.

The review was ordered by a federal judge Wednesday in response to a request included in a lawsuit brought by Stacey Abrams’ campaign for governor.

Abrams trails former Secretary of State Brian Kemp by more than 50,000 votes.

Her campaign has disputed the results, and says she needs about 17,700 votes to force a Dec. 4 runoff.

Kemp’s campaign contends that the results show he has an “insurmountable lead” in the race.

Counties have been ordered to count absentee ballots rejected “solely because of an error or omission in the date of birth” and recertify results if counts change. The deadline is Friday by 5 p.m.

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12:45 p.m.

Instruction letter to local election authorities from the Secretary of State’s Office:

BASED ON FEDERAL ORDER, COUNTIES MUST COUNT ABSENTEE BALLOTS PREVIOUSLY REJECTED FOR MISSING OR INCORRECT DATE OF BIRTH

ATLANTA – On November 14, 2018, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued an order directing Secretary of State Robyn A. Crittenden to ensure that each Georgia county’s certified election results include the counts for absentee ballots where the date of birth was omitted or incorrect.

To comply with this order, the Secretary of State’s office has issued an official election bulletin to county election superintendents and registrars to take the following actions immediately:

Review each rejected absentee ballot to ensure that none were rejected solely because of an error or omission in the date of birth on the absentee ballot oath envelope.
If any absentee by mail ballot was rejected solely because of an error or omission in the date of birth, count the ballot unless the voter cast a subsequent absentee ballot or voted on Election Day.
If a county’s vote totals change after this review, re-certify the election results with the updated totals and forward the new certification to the Secretary of State’s office.
Following this review, complete a confirmation form indicating that there were no changes to the county’s election results or, if there were changes, indicating that any absentee ballots previously rejected solely because of an error or omission in the date of birth have been added to the certified results.
Return this completed confirmation form to the Secretary of State’s office no later than 5 PM on Friday, November 16, 2018.

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12:10 a.m.

Republican Brian Kemp is claiming results certified by county election officials confirm he has an “insurmountable lead” in the Georgia governor’s race.

But Georgia Democrats are casting public doubts on the legitimacy of any election count that ends with the former secretary of state being certified the winner of the race against Stacey Abrams, who’s seeking to become the first black woman elected governor in the U.S.

Abrams’ campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo said at a news conference Wednesday at the Georgia Capitol that her group believes Kemp “mismanaged this election to sway it in his favor.”

Groh-Wargo previously said the Abrams campaign believes she needs a net gain of about 17,700 votes to pull Kemp below a majority threshold and force a Dec. 4 runoff