Georgia Supreme Court rejects appeal to restore controversial new election rules

ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by some Republicans after a lower court judge said new controversial rules made by the State Election Board were “illegal, unconstitutional and void.”

The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party appealed a ruling from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox, who ruled last week that the State Election Board did not have the authority to pass the rules and ordered it to immediately inform all state and local election officials that the rules are void and not to be followed.

The rules that Cox invalidated include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results.

The initial ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Eternal Vigilance Action, an organization founded and led by former state Rep. Scot Turner, a Republican. The suit argued that the State Election Board overstepped its authority in adopting the rules.

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The initial ruling was hailed as a victory by Democrats and voting rights groups, who say rules the State Election Board has passed in recent months could be used by allies of Donald Trump to cast doubt on results if the former president loses the presidential election to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Recent appointments to the five-member board have put three Trump-endorsed Republicans in the majority. They have passed new rules over the objections of the board’s lone Democrat and the nonpartisan chair.

County election officials from around the state — the people who run the elections — had voiced concerns over the flood of new rules taking effect so close to Election Day.

The other rules Cox said are illegal and unconstitutional are ones that: require someone delivering an absentee ballot in person to provide a signature and photo ID; demand video surveillance and recording of ballot drop boxes after polls close during early voting; expand the mandatory designated areas where partisan poll watchers can stand at tabulation centers; and require daily public updates of the number of votes cast during early voting.

One rule that the judge overturned required that three separate poll workers count the number of Election Day ballots by hand to make sure the number of paper ballots matches the electronic tallies on scanners, check-in computers and voting machines.

Tuesday’s decision was unanimous with all judges concurring.

In a statement, Eternal Vigilance Action, who brought the lawsuit over the rules, said in a statement:

“The quick decision by a Fulton County judge followed closely by a unanimous vote of the state Supreme Court should erase any doubt about the merits of our arguments,” said Scot Turner, the executive director of EVA. “I’m a Republican and this is a conservative policy organization. I do not like fighting my friends, but in this instance, fealty to the Georgia Constitution demands it. True conservatives oppose empowering an administrative state that’s not directly accountable to voters. This is another win for principle that only the people’s elected constitutional officers have the power to make law.

“Today’s ruling should put this matter to rest, but I have no doubt that if the case moves forward through the appeals process, our winning streak will continue.”

The ACLU of Georgia also released a statement, praising the decision, saying:

“We welcome the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision to block the State Election Board’s unlawful rules from going into effect. With this ruling, the Court keeps the status quo in place, refusing to allow the SEB to inject chaos and confusion into our democratic system. We are excited about the record early-voting numbers in Georgia and glad that now all can focus on participating in this important election without disruption.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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