The GA Supreme Court ruled that despite receiving the absentee ballots late, voters had to either return them to the Cobb County Elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day or vote in person.

The lawyers cited a professional rule permitting withdrawal when, among other things, the client “renders the representation unreasonably difficult.”

Republicans kept Rep. Jan Jones of Milton as House Speaker Pro Tem and Rep. Chuck Efstration of Dacula as majority leader. Rep. James Burchett of Waycross will remain whip, while Rep. Houston Gaines of Athens will remain vice chair and Rep. Bruce Williamson III of Monroe will remain caucus chair.

Democrats in Georgia's state House chose new faces for leadership positions Thursday after the minority party made only limited gains in the Nov. 5 election. Carolyn Hugley of Columbus was elected minority leader for the next two years,

Georgia is a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, with 16 electoral votes at stake.

CNN and NBC News have projected Trump will win the state. Now that Georgia has gone to Trump, Harris cannot win the presidential election without winning Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. At the time networks called Georgia for Trump, Harris was behind in all three states.

Then-Florida congressman Matt Gaetz sharply criticized Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022 for not appointing a Donald Trump loyalist to the U.S. Senate.

Trump defeated Harris, 50.7% to 48.5%, in Georgia, four years after President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the Peach State, 49.47% to 49.24%.

Mark Meadows had asked the justices to overturn a lower-court ruling rejecting his claims that the case should be moved out of state court in Georgia.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was charged with two counts in the case brought by Fulton County prosecutors over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.

“We’ve shown the country that Georgia remains a red state, with big wins up and down the ticket,” said state House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton. “We will take this mandate from the voters to continue lowering taxes, protecting our neighborhoods and quality of life, and providing more options for Georgia’s students to thrive.”