ATLANTA – According to publicly available data, Gwinnett County is the only known county that is rejecting absentee ballots solely based on missing birthdate information and that they have rejected nearly 1200 ballots on this basis.
However, an internal 2015 memorandum from the Georgia Attorney General’s Office states that this is illegal. Federal law prohibits election officials from rejecting absentee ballots based solely on missing birthdate information.
The ACLU of Georgia demands that Gwinnett County election officials, and all county elections officials throughout the state, comply with the Attorney General’s interpretation of the law.
“A free and fair election requires that all votes be counted,” stated Sean J. Young, Legal Director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Absentee voting should never turn into a literacy test. Every citizen’s sacred, constitutional right to vote must be honored.”
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