ATLANTA — A case seeking a review of absentee ballots from Fulton County's 2020 election is being sent back to the court of appeals thanks to a new order from the state Supreme Court.
The case surrounds a lawsuit filed in December 2020, which asked that 147,000 absentee ballots be unsealed and reviewed to see if any were illegitimate. In the lawsuit, nine Georgia voters allege there was voter fraud in the state's most populous county.
A judge dismissed the case since no fraud was found in the 2020 election. Over the years, it has winded its way through the justice system as the group of voters pushes to check the absentee ballots.
Ultimately, the Georgia Supreme Court remanded Caroline Jeffords v. Fulton County. Now the case goes back to the court of appeals, which is tasked with taking another look at the argument.
In its order, the court said the case should be under reconsideration in light of Sons of Confederate Veterans v. Henry County Board of Commissioners, a case concerning confederate monuments. Earlier this year, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization doesn't qualify as a "community stakeholder," thus lower courts were in the right to dismiss their claim for injury and damages as the county board sought to remove confederate statues.
Now the justices are saying with this new precedent, the appeals court could look at the Fulton County case with new information to consider.
Fulton County helped flipped Georgia blue in favor of President Joe Biden during the 2020 election. The county was also the target of then-President Donald Trump's criticism of the election process and a focal point of his efforts to overturn his loss. Those potentially criminal efforts are now being investigated by a Fulton County special grand jury and the District Attorney's Office.