ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — With a wide-open race for governor as well as a critical U.S. Senate reelection battle, Georgia will once again be the nation’s most closely watched battleground state in 2026.

Georgia’s secretary of state addressed the controversy and said, “A clerical error at the end of the day does not erase valid, legal votes.”

Salleigh Grubbs, first vice chair of the Georgia Republican Party, will replace former state Sen. Rick Jeffares on the board.

A bill that takes effect Thursday bars Georgia's State Ethics Commission from investigating complaints filed 60 days or fewer before an election. Senate Bill 199 will also require political action committees that make contributions or expenditures on behalf of candidates to have separate bank accounts.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Georgia, two other states and the District of Columbia for not handing over its voter registration data.

Salleigh Grubbs will replace former state Sen. Rick Jeffares, who has served on the board since the start of 2024.

Georgia's Election Board investigates Fulton County's 2020 ballot handling, uncovering unsigned tabulator tapes.

Dr. Jaha Howard has won the runoff in Georgia's Senate District 35 special election, securing a majority of the vote and earning a seat in the state Senate.

In newly obtained audio, President Trump reiterated his claims that he had won Georgia in 2020 in a phone call with the state’s House Speaker, David Ralston. Mr. Trump lost Georgia by more than 11,000 votes that year.

A Fulton County Superior Court judge has cleared the way for the Georgia State Election Board to obtain 2020 presidential election ballots and related records from Fulton County after the board reopened its investigation into the county’s election handling last year.