The Georgia Supreme Court has decided against permitting the state election board to implement a series of contentious new election regulations introduced by supporters of Donald Trump, rejecting the Republicans’ appeal to reinstate these rules as early voting commenced in this pivotal battleground state. This ruling represents a notable triumph for Democrats and other parties who have initiated multiple lawsuits against the regulations, contending that the board overstepped its authority in their adoption, as reported by CNN.
Among the seven proposed regulations is one that mandates county election officials to perform a “reasonable inquiry” into election outcomes prior to certifying them, along with another that permits officials to “review all election-related documentation generated during the election process before certifying results.” Additional suggested regulations included requirements for officials to manually count the ballots cast at each polling location on Election Day, broadened access for poll watchers, and the implementation of after-hours video surveillance of drop boxes at early voting sites, according to the outlet.
Georgia, which possesses 16 electoral votes vital for both Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, has witnessed a surge in early voter participation in the 2024 election. State election official Gabriel Sterling reported on Tuesday that 25% of the state’s active voters have already submitted their ballots. The unanimous ruling from the court, which has a conservative majority, was primarily procedural; the justices did not address the legality of the seven regulations but chose not to overturn a lower court’s decision from the previous week that invalidated them.
The directive from Georgia’s highest court prohibits the State Election Board from instructing local election officials to enforce the regulations while a legal challenge is in progress, thereby ensuring that these rules will not affect the current election cycle.
On Tuesday, the court denied a request from Republican officials to accelerate their examination of the regulations. The order indicated that the court would address the matter “in the ordinary course.” The case was brought forth by the election advocacy organization Eternal Vigilance Action. Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox ruled in favor of this group, declaring that the seven regulations “are illegal, unconstitutional, and void,” and determined that the State Election Board did not possess the legal authority to implement them initially.
The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party, which joined the case to support the regulations, appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court and subsequently sought emergency intervention from the justices to restore the regulations.
“This court’s ruling on the stay issue effectively decides whether these new regulations will be in effect for early voting, and possibly for the 2024 election altogether,” attorneys for the Republicans told the court last week.
