Advocates race to find Georgia voters who cast bad ballots

Advocates for both presidential candidates are racing to find every person in Georgia who submitted a flawed ballot before time ran out to fix the paperwork in a race that could be decided by only a few thousand votes.

Counties are required to contact voters with problem ballots so they can be fixed. Both political parties also have those lists and were reaching out.

Cobb County Republican Party Chairman Jason Shepherd sent out a call Thursday for volunteers to help the state party, saying Republicans were trying to fix provisional ballots. State GOP Political Director Joe Proenza referred comment to a Trump campaign spokesperson who did not respond to an email.

Democrat Joe Biden is leading President Donald Trump in Georgia by about 1,500 votes, but final results will not be known for days. Under Georgia law, a candidate can request a recount if the margin is less than one half of one percentage point.

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in Georgia because the race remains too close to call. The state’s 16 electoral votes could clinch the race for Biden in his quest for the 270 votes needed to win the presidency.

The secretary of state’s office says several thousand absentee ballots were still being counted. Another 8,900 ballots sent to military and overseas voters could be counted if received by the Friday deadline. Counties also have provisional ballots to review.

— AP