Georgia Judge Invalidates Election Rules Aimed at Certification Changes

A Superior Court judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has invalidated election rule changes proposed by allies of Donald Trump on the basis that they are unconstitutional. These rules, which Democrats claimed would incite post-election chaos, were designed to introduce additional procedures for the certification of election results in this pivotal battleground state.

Judge Thomas Cox ruled that two of the challenged rules violated state law. One of these rules would have mandated county election officials to conduct a ‘reasonable inquiry’ into election outcomes before their certification, while another allowed them to review all documents related to the election process prior to certifying the results. “The court here declares that these rules are illegal, unconstitutional, and void,” Cox stated in his judgment issued Wednesday.

Georgia’s 16 electoral votes are seen as crucial in the upcoming presidential race, with both Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris heavily invested in the outcome. In 2020, President Joe Biden secured a narrow victory in the state by a margin of just over 10,000 votes.

The GOP-controlled State Election Board argued that the rules lacked discretion, simply outlining procedures for ensuring transparency. However, Cox noted the potential for misuse, stating the ‘reasonable inquiry’ rule added an undefined checkpoint in the certification process, and the ‘examination’ rule allowed election officials a boundless mandate to consider unauthorized materials when counting and certifying votes.

These regulations, passed in August, were quickly challenged by voting rights advocates and Democrats. They argued that such rules could potentially enable partisan county officials to withhold certification of results under claims of electoral misconduct.

The legal action was brought by the election advocacy group Eternal Vigilance Action, among others. In addition to invalidating these rules, Cox also struck down a mandate for officials to hand-count ballots at polling locations, stating state law did not support such a requirement.

In a related development, Judge Robert McBurney halted the enforcement of another election rule that would have required ballots to be hand-counted. He referenced Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s previous comments on electoral logistics, saying the “Hand Count Rule” could lead to significant disruption so close to the election date.