Judges reject bid to overturn Georgia result

ATLANTA >> A federal appeals court on Saturday rejected a plea to overturn the presidential election in Georgia.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta in November, Attorney L. Lin Wood Jr. cited what he said were numerous problems with the conduct of the election in Georgia. Among other things, he said signature matching on absentee ballots was not done properly.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg rejected Wood’s request for an emergency order preventing Georgia from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump. The judge said he found no evidence of irregularities that affected more than a nominal number of votes.

Wood appealed that decision. But on Saturday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his petition.

The court said Wood lacked standing to sue because he failed to allege any specific injury he had suffered. It said state officials already had certified the election. And it said federal courts have limited jurisdiction in such cases — “we may not entertain postelection contests about garden-variety issues of vote counting and misconduct that may properly be filed in state courts.”

Several other lawsuits seeking to overturn the election are pending. On Friday, Trump’s campaign said it filed another in Fulton County Superior Court.

The president and his supporters have filed dozens of such lawsuits in key states that he lost across the country. So far, none of the suits has been successful.