ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia is appealing a judge's ruling that allows counties to offer early voting this coming Saturday in the U.S. Senate runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.
Warnock's campaign, along with the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, sued the state last week, arguing early voting should be allowed that day.
They were challenging guidance from Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that said state law doesn't allow early voting on a Saturday if there is a holiday on the Thursday or Friday preceding it.
Thursday is Thanksgiving, and Friday is a state holiday. The Saturday following those two holidays, Nov. 26, is the only possibility for Saturday voting before next month's Senate runoff election between Warnock and Walker.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox on Friday issued an order siding with the Warnock campaign and the Democratic groups. He found the law cited by the state regarding Saturday voting after a holiday does not apply to a runoff election.
Lawyers for the state Monday filed an appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals. They asked the court to immediately stay the lower court ruling.
They argue in a court filing that the ruling was erroneous for procedural reasons but also that Cox was wrong to consider the runoff a separate type of election rather than a continuation of the general election.
This combination of photos shows, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 3, 2021, left, and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaking in Perry, Ga., Sept. 25, 2021. (AP Photo)
Attorney Uzoma Nkwonta, center, prepares to speak in a Fulton County Courthouse on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, in Atlanta. A lawsuit was filed by the Democratic Party of Georgia, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Warnock campaign that challenges guidance by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying that it would be illegal to hold early voting on Saturday, Nov. 26, the day after a state holiday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
FILE - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is shown in this Oct. 18, 2022 file photograph speaking during the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray File)