Georgia judge throws out Trump campaign lawsuit on absentee ballots

A judge in Georgia on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump campaign over the state’s handling of absentee ballots just hours after it was filed in Chatham County court.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge James Bass dismissed the lawsuit following an hourlong hearing.

President Trump’s campaign filed the lawsuit against the Chatham County Board of Elections Wednesday evening, alleging that a witness had said that late-arriving ballots had not been properly stored and may have been mixed in with timely ballots.

“Having read and considered said petition, all argument and evidence of record, including the evidence presented at the hearing, and the applicable law, the Court finds that there is no evidence that the ballots referenced in the petition were received after 7:00 p.m. on election day, thereby making those ballots invalid,” Bass said in a brief, one-paragraph decision.

“Additionally, there is no evidence that the Chatham County Board of Elections or the Chatham County Board of Registrars has failed to comply with the law.”

Georgia will only accept ballots that were received before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trump held a narrowing lead in Georgia over former Vice President Joe Biden of less than 15,000 votes amid the ongoing count.