Georgia judge stops new election rules, calling them unlawful

In Georgia‚ a judge has put a stop to a set of election rules that were okʼd by the stateʼs election board earlier this year. The judge didnt mince words‚ saying these rules are “ILLEGAL UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID“ (this strong statement shows the judges firm stance on the matter)

The judge threw out more than six new rules. One of these would have let county election officials start looking into irregularities‚ which some people were worried might slow down the process of confirming election results. Democrats and groups that fight for voting rights had gone to court to stop these rules‚ saying they were being put in place too close to the election and would cause problems.

Judge Thomas A Cox Jr. also got rid of a rule that would have made people count ballots by hand. This decision was like one made by another judge‚ Robert McBurney just a day before. McBurney had also said that county election boards cant choose not to confirm results. These decisions apply to the whole state.

Other rules that got tossed out would have:
- Made new ID rules for people dropping off absentee ballots for others
- Made counties report more about absentee ballots they get
- Made it so counties had to give board members “all election related documentation“ if they had questions about results

The judge said the State Election Board “had no authority to implement“ these rules. This decision is good news for people who fight for voting rights and for Democratic groups‚ including Kamala Harrisʼs campaign‚ who didnt like these new rules. Three people on the state board who support Donald Trump had approved these rules‚ even though the other two board members said no.

Judge Cox said the rules need to be stopped right away and all county election officials need to be told not to use them. This ruling came from a case brought by a group called Eternal Vigilance Action against Georgia