In November 2019, the Democratic Party of Georgia, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee challenged Georgia’s absentee ballot procedures as unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. They sued Secretary Raffensperger and members of the Board for declaratory and injunctive relief. Secretary Raffensperger and the Board maintained that the procedures were constitutional, but they agreed to promulgate regulations to ensure uniform practices across counties. In March 2020, the parties entered into a settlement agreement and dismissed the suit.
In the settlement agreement, Secretary Raffensperger and the Board agreed to issue an Official Election Bulletin regarding the review of signatures on absentee ballots. The Bulletin instructed officials to review the voter’s signature with the following process:
If the registrar or absentee ballot clerk determines that the voter’s signature on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope does not match any of the voter’s signatures on file…, the registrar or absentee ballot clerk must seek review from two other registrars, deputy registrars, or absentee ballot clerks. A mail-in absentee ballot shall not be rejected unless a majority of the registrars, deputy registrars, or absentee ballot clerks reviewing the signature agree that the signature does not match any of the voter’s signatures on file….
Secretary Raffensperger and the Board also agreed to train county election officials to follow this process.
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