Lawsuit: Nearly 2,900 Cobb absentee ballots at risk in Nov. 3 election

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — With less than a week until Election Day, about 2,900 Cobb County absentee voters could be disenfranchised by ballot mailing delays, a new class-action lawsuit claims.The suit, filed Tuesday in Cobb County Superior Court by voter Michael Olaribigbe on behalf of himself and others, named Elections Director Leigh Phillips and members of the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration.The complaint alleges ballots recorded as “issued” between Oct. 6 and Oct. 15 were not actually mailed for up to nearly two weeks by the county’s vendor, New York-based Fort Orange Press. It cites state data showing only 13.3% of those Cobb ballots have been returned, compared with about 50% statewide.Georgia law requires absentee ballots be mailed within three days of receiving a timely application during early voting, the suit notes.Olaribigbe, who requested his ballot Oct. 5 while working in New York and has not received it, said he cannot return to Georgia to vote