Georgia counties overnight new ballots after vendor delays hit up to 10,000 voters

Three metro Atlanta counties have agreed to rush replacement absentee ballots by overnight mail. Thousands of voters asked for a mail ballot in early October and still had not received it days before Tuesday's midterm election ¹⁴⁶.

Gwinnett County settled an emergency lawsuit from civil rights groups on Saturday, Oct. 31. DeKalb County reached a similar deal on Friday, and Cobb County announced its own replacement plan on Oct. 28 after a separate lawsuit was filed there ¹⁶.

Democratic Party of Georgia chair Charlie Bailey estimated the delays affected about 10,000 voters across the three counties, a figure the civil rights groups' lawsuits also cite ⁵²³. The counties pointed to the same vendor: Fort Orange Press, a New York-based company that prints and mails their absentee ballots ⁴⁶.

What went wrong

The Cobb lawsuit says ballots marked as "issued" between Oct. 6 and Oct. 15 went unmailed for up to nearly two weeks. Georgia law requires counties to mail an absentee ballot within three days of receiving a timely application during early voting ⁵.

From Channel GOPOssoff: Trump lines his pockets while Georgians payJon Ossoff · 147 plays · captioned, with the source named

The return numbers showed the problem. When the Cobb suit was filed, 13.3% of the delayed Cobb ballots had come back, compared with about 50% statewide ⁵. By the time the Gwinnett suit was filed, Gwinnett's return rate was 28.3%, against 67.1% statewide. Nearly 23,000 absentee ballots sent out in the three counties had not been returned ⁴.

Cobb's elections board said in a statement that a limited number of voters were affected, and it said the delay was caused by its third-party vendor, Fort Orange Press ⁶⁹. Democracy Docket reported that the same company serves counties in Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York that have reported similar delivery problems. Fort Orange Press did not respond to that outlet's request for comment ⁴.

Absentee voting is an invaluable mechanism for voters who may otherwise be unable to cast their ballot.

Charlie Bailey, chair of Georgia's Democratic Party, said the counties appeared to process applications correctly and send them on to the vendor ⁴⁵. State Rep. Saira Draper, a Democrat, said voters had applied early and that "it's up in the air whether they're going to receive their absentee ballots in time" ⁵.

The lawsuits

In Cobb, voter Michael Olaribigbe filed a class action in Cobb County Superior Court on Tuesday, Oct. 27. A class action is a suit brought on behalf of a whole group of people in the same situation. Olaribigbe asked for his ballot on Oct. 5 while working in New York and says he cannot get back to Georgia to vote in person ⁵. The Elias Law Group represents the plaintiff, and the lead plaintiff dropped the suit after the county agreed to send replacement ballots ⁹.

In Gwinnett, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Georgia sued on Oct. 30. They filed on behalf of voter Nathan Doyle Huntington and 1,819 other registered Gwinnett voters, nearly 2,000 in all ³. Among other things, they asked the court to count ballots that arrive by Nov. 6 as long as they are postmarked by Election Day ³.

No voter should lose their voice because an absentee ballot they requested never made it to their mailbox

Under the settlement, Gwinnett will contact each voter who has not returned a ballot and tell them they can ask for a replacement. The county will send the new ballot overnight and pay the return postage, according to the SPLC ¹. WSB-TV's report on the deal did not say anything about extending the deadline.

Folks should be able to count on their government to do the bare minimum the law requires: Mail absentee ballots on time.

Cobb puts the burden on voters

Cobb's fix works differently. Voters have to contact the elections office themselves. Staff then confirm that the ballot was in the delayed batch, and the voter signs an affidavit, a sworn form, cancelling the original ballot. A relative cannot do this for the voter ⁵⁶.

Cobb sends approved replacements by U.S. Postal Service Priority Express Mail with a prepaid express return envelope ⁶. It will not send a new ballot to anyone who already had the original in hand as of Oct. 28, has already voted another way, or has already cancelled their request ⁵.

That matters because the clock is not moving. Cobb officials said there is no deadline extension, and absentee ballots must reach the elections office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, when the polls close ⁶.

The pattern

This is not the first time. The Cobb lawsuit asked for the same kind of emergency relief that was ordered in Cobb County in 2022 and 2024: overnight ballots, overnight return envelopes and notice to the voters affected ⁵. Georgia sits at the center of national fights over who gets to vote and how. When the government itself fails to mail ballots on time, voters who did everything right are the ones who pay.

Any voter who asked for a ballot but never got it can still vote in person, either at their polling place or after cancelling the mail ballot ⁸⁶. The SPLC's Bradley Heard said in the group's announcement that "It is unacceptable that voters are experiencing delays of this scale when voting by absentee" ².

The Record

1. Oct 27, 2026A Cobb County voter files a class action in Cobb County Superior Court saying about 2,900 absentee voters had not received their ballots ⁵.
2. Oct 28, 2026Cobb's elections board blames vendor Fort Orange Press and offers replacement ballots by overnight mail. The lead plaintiff drops the suit ⁶⁹.
3. Oct 30, 2026The SPLC, LDF, ACLU and ACLU of Georgia file an emergency suit for 1,820 Gwinnett voters. DeKalb County agrees to a replacement-ballot deal ³¹.
4. Oct 31, 2026Gwinnett County settles. It agrees to contact affected voters, overnight replacement ballots and pay return postage ¹.
5. Nov 3, 2026Election Day. Absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m., with no extension ⁷.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Georgia counties overnight new ballots after vendor delays hit up to 10,000 voters</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files National Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/georgia-counties-overnight-new-ballots-after-vendor-delays-hit-up-to-10-000-voters">The GOP Files</a> on Monday, November 2, 2026.</em></p> <p>Three metro Atlanta counties have agreed to rush replacement absentee ballots by overnight mail. Thousands of voters asked for a mail ballot in early October and still had not received it days before Tuesday&#39;s midterm election .</p> <p>Gwinnett County settled an emergency lawsuit from civil rights groups on Saturday, Oct. 31. DeKalb County reached a similar deal on Friday, and Cobb County announced its own replacement plan on Oct. 28 after a separate lawsuit was filed there .</p> <p>Democratic Party of Georgia chair Charlie Bailey estimated the delays affected about 10,000 voters across the three counties, a figure the civil rights groups&#39; lawsuits also cite . The counties pointed to the same vendor: Fort Orange Press, a New York-based company that prints and mails their absentee ballots .</p> <h2>What went wrong</h2> <p>The Cobb lawsuit says ballots marked as &quot;issued&quot; between Oct. 6 and Oct. 15 went unmailed for up to nearly two weeks. Georgia law requires counties to mail an absentee ballot within three days of receiving a timely application during early voting .</p> <p>The return numbers showed the problem. When the Cobb suit was filed, 13.3% of the delayed Cobb ballots had come back, compared with about 50% statewide . By the time the Gwinnett suit was filed, Gwinnett&#39;s return rate was 28.3%, against 67.1% statewide. Nearly 23,000 absentee ballots sent out in the three counties had not been returned .</p> <p>Cobb&#39;s elections board said in a statement that a limited number of voters were affected, and it said the delay was caused by its third-party vendor, Fort Orange Press . Democracy Docket reported that the same company serves counties in Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York that have reported similar delivery problems. Fort Orange Press did not respond to that outlet&#39;s request for comment .</p> <blockquote><p>Absentee voting is an invaluable mechanism for voters who may otherwise be unable to cast their ballot.</p><p>&mdash; Bradley Heard, deputy legal director, Southern Poverty Law Center</p></blockquote> <p>Charlie Bailey, chair of Georgia&#39;s Democratic Party, said the counties appeared to process applications correctly and send them on to the vendor . State Rep. Saira Draper, a Democrat, said voters had applied early and that &quot;it&#39;s up in the air whether they&#39;re going to receive their absentee ballots in time&quot; .</p> <h2>The lawsuits</h2> <p>In Cobb, voter Michael Olaribigbe filed a class action in Cobb County Superior Court on Tuesday, Oct. 27. A class action is a suit brought on behalf of a whole group of people in the same situation. Olaribigbe asked for his ballot on Oct. 5 while working in New York and says he cannot get back to Georgia to vote in person . The Elias Law Group represents the plaintiff, and the lead plaintiff dropped the suit after the county agreed to send replacement ballots .</p> <p>In Gwinnett, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Georgia sued on Oct. 30. They filed on behalf of voter Nathan Doyle Huntington and 1,819 other registered Gwinnett voters, nearly 2,000 in all . Among other things, they asked the court to count ballots that arrive by Nov. 6 as long as they are postmarked by Election Day .</p> <blockquote><p>No voter should lose their voice because an absentee ballot they requested never made it to their mailbox</p><p>&mdash; Will Hughes, staff attorney, ACLU Voting Rights Project</p></blockquote> <p>Under the settlement, Gwinnett will contact each voter who has not returned a ballot and tell them they can ask for a replacement. The county will send the new ballot overnight and pay the return postage, according to the SPLC . WSB-TV&#39;s report on the deal did not say anything about extending the deadline.</p> <blockquote><p>Folks should be able to count on their government to do the bare minimum the law requires: Mail absentee ballots on time.</p><p>&mdash; Raneem Ashrawi, staff attorney, ACLU of Georgia</p></blockquote> <h2>Cobb puts the burden on voters</h2> <p>Cobb&#39;s fix works differently. Voters have to contact the elections office themselves. Staff then confirm that the ballot was in the delayed batch, and the voter signs an affidavit, a sworn form, cancelling the original ballot. A relative cannot do this for the voter .</p> <p>Cobb sends approved replacements by U.S. Postal Service Priority Express Mail with a prepaid express return envelope . It will not send a new ballot to anyone who already had the original in hand as of Oct. 28, has already voted another way, or has already cancelled their request .</p> <p>That matters because the clock is not moving. Cobb officials said there is no deadline extension, and absentee ballots must reach the elections office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, when the polls close .</p> <h2>The pattern</h2> <p>This is not the first time. The Cobb lawsuit asked for the same kind of emergency relief that was ordered in Cobb County in 2022 and 2024: overnight ballots, overnight return envelopes and notice to the voters affected . Georgia sits at the center of national fights over who gets to vote and how. When the government itself fails to mail ballots on time, voters who did everything right are the ones who pay.</p> <p>Any voter who asked for a ballot but never got it can still vote in person, either at their polling place or after cancelling the mail ballot . The SPLC&#39;s Bradley Heard said in the group&#39;s announcement that &quot;It is unacceptable that voters are experiencing delays of this scale when voting by absentee&quot; .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/georgia-counties-overnight-new-ballots-after-vendor-delays-hit-up-to-10-000-voters">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/georgia-counties-overnight-new-ballots-after-vendor-delays-hit-up-to-10-000-voters.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. WSB-TV, “Gwinnett County reaches deal to help voters affected by delayed absentee ballots” (2026-11-01). wsbtv.com/news/local/gwinnett-county-reaches-deal-help-voter
2. ACLU, “Voting Rights Groups File For Emergency Relief for Gwinnett County Voters Subjected to Delays in Absentee Voting” (2026-10-30). aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-groups-files-for-emerg
3. Legal Defense Fund, “SPLC, LDF, ACLU File For Emergency Relief for Gwinnett County Voters Subjected to Delays in Absentee Voting” (2026-10-30). naacpldf.org/press-release/splc-ldf-aclu-file-for-emergency-
4. Democracy Docket, “Another Georgia county is sued after 1,800 voters don't receive mail ballots” (2026-10-31). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/another-georgia-county-is-su
5. Atlanta News First, “Lawsuit: Mailing delays could disenfranchise nearly 3,000 Cobb voters” (2026-10-28). atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/10/28/lawsuit-nearly-2900-cobb-abs
6. FOX 5 Atlanta, “Cobb County overnighting replacement ballots after vendor delay” (2026-10-28). fox5atlanta.com/news/cobb-county-overnighting-replacement-ba
7. East Cobb News, “Cobb Elections addresses absentee ballot delays after lawsuit” (2026-10-29). eastcobbnews.com/cobb-elections-addresses-absentee-ballot-de
8. 95.5 WSB, “Thousands of Georgia voters still waiting on absentee ballots as Election Day nears” (2026-10-29). wsbradio.com/news/local/thousands-georgia-voters-still-waiti
9. Democracy Docket, “Key Georgia county will overnight absentee ballots to voters who never got them, after lawsuit” (2026-10-28). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/key-georgia-county-will-over

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.