Democrats sue Georgia election board over new vote count rule
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Voters cast ballots in Georgia's primary election on May 21 in Atlanta. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
Democrats filed a lawsuit against Georgia's election board on Monday over the state's new rule that requires poll workers to hand-count ballots in November.
The big picture: The suit, supported by the Harris-Walz campaign, alleges that the new system violates Georgia law and will create chaos and delays on election night in the battleground state.
Zoom in: The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia filed the lawsuit, arguing the decision exceeds the state election board's rule-making authority.
- It also "violates foundational limits on agencies that are intended to avoid precisely the scenario here — an unelected body unilaterally making significant changes to the law without notice or explanation," the suit states.
- "To protect the sanctity of the state's laws and to prevent election night chaos," the court should stop the rule from going into effect, they argued.
Context: The rule was passed by the Georgia State Election Board's three-member majority earlier this month after the state's attorney general and the secretary of state warned it could exceed the board's authority and was being instituted too close to the election.
- Under the new order, three sworn poll officers at each polling place must independently hand count ballots on Nov. 5 or 6. Results must match those of the scanner recap forms and inconsistencies will be resolved and documented by the poll manager.
What they're saying: Quentin Fulks, deputy campaign manager for Harris-Walz, said in a statement that Trump allies in Georgia passed the rule to "sow doubt" in the upcoming election.
- "We agree with Georgia's Republican Attorney General and Secretary of State: This rule is unproductive and unlawful, and we are fighting it," Fulks said. "Democrats are stepping in to ensure that Georgia voters can cast their ballots knowing that they will be counted in a free and fair election."
- Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said that "by passing this new rule, the board's MAGA majority is working on Trump's behalf to sow enough doubt in our electoral process to allow him to fraudulently claim victory should he lose — just as he did in 2020."
- The secretary of state's office declined to comment on the pending litigation. The state attorney general's office and a Georgia state election board representative did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Between the lines: The State Election Board, with a 3-2 Republican majority, has passed a steady stream of bureaucratic rule changes in recent months.
- MAGA and GOP activists have helped push the Republican appointees to approve what they market as common-sense measures — nuanced and subtle fixes that they say will make elections more secure, Axios' Thomas Wheatley reports.
- The new rules could help cast doubt and fan flames of suspicion on the democratic process as they did in 2020, Thomas writes, and could delay the certification of the presidential election results come November.
Zoom out: Democrats also filed a lawsuit in August challenging a measure passed by the same elections board over a rule on the election certification process.
- That trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
Go deeper: Georgia election board requires poll workers to hand count ballots in November
