A U.S. judge on Tuesday denied a bid by Republicans to block seven counties in the battleground state of Georgia from accepting some absentee ballots, and chided the party's lawyers for what he termed discrimination against political opponents.

ToplineThe Georgia Supreme Court won’t let Cobb County, Georgia, count thousands of ballots that were sent out late if they arrive after Election Day—at least for now—as courts across the country are issuing a flurry of last-minute rulings on ballots and how elections are run as parties seek to expand or limit voter access.

Georgia’s highest court on Monday ruled that thousands of Cobb County voters who received their ballots late will not have their votes immediately counted if their ballots are received by officials after Election Day,

The lawsuit targeted Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold, seeking to stop it from opening election offices over the weekend to receive absentee ballots in person.

Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit in Southern swing state Georgia after a key county said it was still working to mail more than 3,000 ballots after the state’s deadline.

While a lower court previously extended the deadline for absentee ballots in the suburban county, Georgia's high court ruled that the ballots can only be counted if they arrive by

A federal judge ruled against Republicans in a challenge to Democratic strongholds in Georgia that opened locations over the weekend and Monday for voters to return their absentee ballots in person. U.