Donald Trump has lost his first challenge to electoral processes after a judge in Georgia dismissed his case
A judge in Georgia has denied a Republican attempt to question the vote counting in the state, in the first ruling from a flurry of lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign.
The case was filed on Wednesday in Chatham County, after a Republican witness said, without providing evidence, that he did not know whether a pile of 53 ballots were received on time.
On Thursday morning Judge James Bass dismissed the case in a one-sentence ruling, without giving his reasoning.
“After listening to the evidence, I’m denying the request, dismissing the petition, thank you gentlemen,” he concluded at the end of the hour-long hearing in Savannah.
In their complaint, the Trump campaign argued: “Failing to ensure that absentee ballots received after the deadline are stored in a manner to ensure that such ballots are not inadvertently or intentionally counted, as required under Georgia law, harms the interests of the Trump Campaign and President Trump because it could lead to the dilution of legal votes cast in support of President Trump.”
The complaint also contained a sworn declaration by a poll watcher named Sean Pumphrey with a “vague account about a stack of 53 ballots,” according to lawandcrime.com.
He alleged, but provided no evidence of, impropriety.
The board’s witness said the ballots were indeed received on time, and Sabrina German, the director of Chatham County’s Voter Registration Office, backed up the board witness’s testimony.
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Jeff Harris, from the Democratic Party of Georgia, said that both of the Republican witnesses conceded they had no idea about when those 53 ballots were received.
“They have been flatly incapable of proffering competent evidence to prove that point,” he said.
“Courts don’t resolve disputes about whether something may or may not be happening.”
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