VALDOSTA — Election officials rebuffed a challenge to the early voting process Wednesday, saying there was not enough evidence to support claims made by an outside group that had issued the challenge. 

Early voting is underway for the U.S. Senate runoff races that will determine the balance of power in the Senate. 

Republican Sens. Kelley Loeffler and David Perdue are facing off against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the hotly contest Jan. 5 runoff that has drawn national attention. 

Tuesday, a written challenge, calling into question ballots of individuals who had submitted a change of address, was issued to county elections offices across the state of Georgia. 

The Lowndes County Board of Elections convened an emergency meeting Wednesday via teleconference to consider the veracity of the claims and determine if elections workers could continue processing mailed, paper ballots. 

In an unanimous decision, the board rejected the challenge, citing a lack of evidence to substantiate the challenge, meaning elections officials and poll workers are able to resume processing paper ballots.