Source: The Washington Post / Getty

The state of Georgia is the hotbed of one of the most important races ahead of the general election just two weeks away. In a victory for voting rights advocates, a judge has declared an end to the rejection of absentee ballots due to signatures.

USA Today reports that U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May made official a temporary restraining that will give voters an opportunity to contest any rejection due to issues with the ballot. The ruling was put forth on Wednesday (Oct. 24) and was made official yesterday (Oct. 25). The significance of this is huge considering that voters had little in the way of a defense in having their ballots rejected due to their signature not matching their official paperwork.

“The court does not understand how assuring that all eligible voters are permitted to vote undermines integrity of the election process,” May said. “To the contrary, it strengthens it.”

She added, “Permitting an absentee voter to resolve an alleged signature discrepancy … has the very tangible benefit of avoiding disenfranchisement.”

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate, is poised to become the first Black woman to become governor in the United States and the stakes are certainly high. Her Republican opponent, Secretary of State Robert Kemp, turned heads after leaked audio provided in a Rolling Stone story revealed that Kemp is concerned about Abrams’ ability to get voters to hit the polls.

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Photo: Getty