Judge throws out RNC Georgia absentee ballot lawsuit

A federal judge appointed by Trump in Georgia slapped a lawsuit filed by Republican National Committee on Tuesday and gave the lawyers in charge a brutal dressing down as he did so.

Judge R. Stan Baker, who was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia by former President Donald Trumpthrown out appeal filed by the RNC, which sought to disqualify absentee ballots that were accepted in person by seven Democratic-leaning Georgia counties over the weekend, which they claimed was a violation of Georgia law.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger clarified a few days ago that “under state law, election officials may receive in-person absentee ballots at (government) facilities if the county chooses.”

In a stinging verbal rebuke documented by LawfareBaker told the lawyers who filed the lawsuit that their claim “does not stand up to even the most basic level of legal review and reading comprehension” and was at points “factually and legally incorrect.”

Judge Baker he told the court that it would not only violate the constitutional rights of Georgia voters to grant the RNC’s request, but would “only invalidate votes in select counties that plaintiffs chose based on nothing more than the past political preferences of the citizens of those counties. .”

“Even more troubling, I would only invalidate votes in select counties that the plaintiffs chose based on nothing more than the prior political preferences of the citizens of those counties,” he said, adding that the RNC is trying to “tilt” the election. by discriminating against (counties) less likely to vote for their candidate.”

The lawsuit was filed by Alex Kaufman, a pro-Trump attorney who was involved in Trump’s 2020 efforts to pressure Georgia officials to rig the state’s election results in Trump’s favor. The lawyer was on the infamous call where Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed for him to win the state, and in 2023, a Georgia grand jury recommended that Kaufman be indicted for alterations related to his involvement in the afake scheme of electoral college voters cooked up by state Republicans. Kauffman eventually escaped criminal charges but reportedly returned to the plot in the name of the former president’s presidential ambitions.

Judge Baker made it a point to reprimand Kauffman and his fellow attorneys. “When it comes to the issues that underlie our constitutional republic, including our electoral system, those of us who work in the legal profession have an obligation (…) not to pull any punches,” he said. said.

“It’s dangerous when a non-lawyer makes factually or legally incorrect claims about the right to vote (…) but a lawyer, it’s even more dangerous (…) That’s why we have serious repercussions for those who violate their duty of candor,” Baker added.