A Georgia judge has recently declared seven new election rules illegal and unconstitutional. Thomas Cox‚ a Fulton County Superior Court Judge made this ruling on 10/16/24 after a hearing on challenges to the rules
The invalidated rules include three that got a lot of attention - one requiring hand-counting of ballots after polls close‚ and two related to certifying election results. Cox found these rules “unsupported by Georgias Election Code and contrary to it“. He ordered the State Election Board to remove the rules and inform all election officials that theyre void
The State Election Board (controlled by three Trump-endorsed Republicans) has passed many rules in recent months‚ mostly dealing with post-ballot-casting processes. This comes after Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Biden about four years ago‚ claiming without proof that fraud cost him the state
Democratic Party organizations local election officials and a group led by a former Republican lawmaker have filed several lawsuits over the rules. Theres concern that some rules could be used by Trump allies to delay certification or cast doubt on results if he loses to Kamala Harris in the upcoming election
The ruling came from a lawsuit filed by Eternal Vigilance Action‚ led by former state Rep Scot Turner‚ a Republican. Turner said: “It was a complete and total victory for the Constitution of the United States. These rules were opposed by citizens that are Republican‚ as well as Democrats and independents; its not about party“
One blocked rule required three poll workers to hand-count Election Day ballots‚ ensuring paper ballots match electronic tallies. Critics argued this could slow result reporting and burden poll workers‚ while supporters said it would take minutes‚ not hours
Another Fulton County Judge‚ Robert McBurney‚ temporarily blocked the hand-count for the November election on 10/15/24‚ saying it may be good policy but its too close to implement now
Two other invalidated rules defined certification and allowed county officials to examine all election-related documentation. Supporters argued these ensure accuracy‚ while critics said they could delay or deny certification