Cobb County Board of Elections rejects challenges to remove thousands of voters

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - There's a push to disqualify thousands of voters in Cobb County.

Friday afternoon, elections officials denied requests to remove voters ahead of the January Senate runoffs races.

Election officials said there's no proof that voters moved out-of-state.

Now, Jason Shepherd plans to plead his case before a judge.

https://www.cobbcounty.org/elections/news/voter-lists-challenged

In a challenge submitted to elections officials, he claims more than 16,000 people are registered to vote in Cobb County but they live outside of Georgia.

He said he came up with that number by comparing the county's voter registration data with the national change of address registry.

"We do have probable cause to challenge them. The fact that they have moved out of the state. That's not just someone rumored that they moved. They themselves filled out the card with the United States Postal Service," he explained.

Shepherd is the chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party.

Election officials unanimously voted to deny a full hearing on several challenges seeking to disqualify those voters.

They said many people change their address for various reasons, and the information given to them doesn't specify if it's a temporary or permanent move.

"They may be out of state, or county, taking care of a loved one who's sick and they want to receive their mail. So the mere fact that there is this list that has these names on it to me isn’t sufficient," one of the board's attorneys explained.

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With the Senate runoffs happening in less than three weeks, Shepherd said he's going to the county's superior court to try and get the names removed.

"With this many voters, that can greatly affect the outcome of the runoff election in Georgia," Shepherd explained.

He went on to say "they're free to vote in the new state that they're living in right now. That's what happens when you move. It doesn't matter how much you love Georgia."

There are similar challenges happening throughout the state as we get closer to January's runoffs.

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