Georgia's new election rules, which require ballots to be counted by hand on election night, won't go into effect until the November election, a state judge has ruled.
in To be decided late TuesdayFulton County Senior Judge Robert McBurney agreed to block the rule, saying, “Pressing pause does not violate the rights of the public.”
“This election season is full of ups and downs. Regardless of one's view of the fame or infamy of January 6th, the memory of January 6th is not erased,” McBurney wrote in his eight-page ruling. “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process undermines the interests of the people.”
The rule was passed by the Republican State Board of Elections and was scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 22, just two weeks before the election and during early voting in the state.
According to the rules, three poll workers at each facility can “separately” and “independently” count 50 physical ballots, rather than votes, until all three tallies match. It was mandatory. If there are no more than 750 ballots in the scanners by the time polls close, the hand count will be completed on election night, at which point poll officials can postpone the count to the next day.
Election officials and poll workers have vocally opposed the change, warning that counting ballots by hand is overly burdensome and prone to errors. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, called the rule “misguided” and suggested it could delay reporting of election results.
Additionally, states have little time to train poll workers under the new guidelines. At a court hearing on the matter Tuesday, a lawyer for the Cobb County Board of Elections told McBurney that 444 county poll workers would need to be trained to follow the new rules.
Lawyers for the state election board pushed back, arguing that the commission was tasked by the Georgia General Assembly to set election rules and had no time constraints to do so.
McBurney said in his ruling that his decision was not final and that more details would come later, but after the election. He said the county election board had amply demonstrated irreparable damage, pointing to the “chaos that could ensue if 11 elections were held.”thThe “one and a half hour” rule has been introduced.
“Our Board of Elections and the Superintendent have a legal obligation to ensure that elections are “honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted.'' Failure to comply with these legal obligations “This could result in investigation, suspension, and even punishment by the SEB,” he wrote. Criminal prosecution. ”
“The latter is far-fetched, but not impossible in this turbulent political climate,” he added parenthetically.
The justices did not rule on the other five rules discussed at Tuesday's hearing, nor did they consider the merits of the hand count rule. The Cobb County Board of Elections did not seek to stop enforcement of other rules.
The Democratic National Committee intervened in the case. Following McBurney's ruling, DNC acting co-executive director Monica Guardiola, Georgia Democratic Party chairwoman Rep. Nikema Williams, and Harris Walz acting campaign manager Quentin Fawkes released a statement supporting the decision. did.
“From its inception, this rule was an attempt to delay the election results in order to sow doubt about them. Our democracy is stronger because of the decision to block this rule,” they said. “We will continue to fight to ensure voters are able to vote.”
McBurney's decision is the second major ruling he has handed down on Tuesday. Earlier, a judge rejected a challenge by Fulton County election officials who refused to certify election results during Georgia's spring primaries, ruling that county election officials cannot delay or refuse to certify election results. showed the judgment.
The board member is reportedly one of at least 19 Republican county officials in the state who have refused to certify election results since 2020, a marked increase from previous years. That's what it means.atlanta journal constitution. Georgia is one of seven key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the election.
McBurney also announced two other new state election administration measures that would allow “reasonable scrutiny” before election certification and require election officials to “examine all election-related documents created during the conduct of an election.” Committee rules are also being considered. He has not made any decisions on this matter.
