Georgia Judge Blocks New Hand Count Rule, Ensures Election Certification

Georgia election ruling/ Judge blocks hand count rule/ Georgia ballot certification/ election rules Georgia/ State Election Board Georgia/ Newslooks/ ATLANTA/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ A Georgia judge halted a new rule requiring Election Day ballots to be hand-counted, calling the mandate chaotic and disruptive. The judge also ruled that county election officials must certify results on time, amid fears that partisan disputes could delay or undermine election outcomes.

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Georgia Judge Blocks New Counting Rule Quick Look

• Hand Count Halted: Judge McBurney blocked a rule requiring ballots be hand-counted, citing impracticality.
• Certification Mandate: Ruling requires county officials to certify election results on time, regardless of disputes.
• Background: Certification became contentious after 2020, with some Trump allies challenging required procedures.
• Voter Groups: Democrats and voting rights advocates celebrated both rulings as victories for electoral integrity.
• Legal Landscape: Multiple election rule lawsuits filed; further hearings expected.

Georgia Judge Blocks New Hand Count Rule, Ensures Election Certification

Deep Look

In Georgia, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued two pivotal rulings this week affecting the state’s upcoming election procedures. McBurney blocked a recently introduced rule requiring Election Day ballots to be counted by hand, citing the lack of preparation and support for such a time-consuming task. He also issued a ruling ensuring that county election officials cannot abstain from certifying results, underscoring the requirement for election boards to confirm election outcomes by Georgia’s legal deadlines.

The hand-counting requirement, introduced by the Trump-endorsed State Election Board, mandated that poll workers manually count ballots after polls close, purportedly to verify voting machine results. McBurney found this rule impractical and said it could lead to chaos in election administration. “The administrative chaos that will — not may — ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections,” McBurney wrote in his ruling, noting that neither the time nor resources were in place to ensure the rule’s fair execution.

The judge emphasized that Georgia’s election boards must prioritize orderliness, especially given the heightened public distrust that has followed recent U.S. elections. He referenced the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, warning that policies that increase uncertainty only fuel public distrust. The timing and implementation requirements of the new hand-count rule, he said, “disserve the public.”

The judge’s other major ruling came as early voting began in Georgia, where ballots are cast and tallied under close scrutiny. McBurney clarified that under Georgia law, county election officials are required to certify results, regardless of potential delays in obtaining supporting documents or reports. While election officials are permitted to examine election conduct and review procedural details, the ruling states that certification cannot be delayed based on unverified concerns of fraud or procedural disputes.

This decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of Fulton County’s election board, who argued that election board members should have the discretion to abstain from certification if they suspect irregularities. Adams’s position, backed by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, had claimed that board members could withhold certification if they felt they had insufficient access to materials. McBurney disagreed, ruling that such concerns should be noted and reported to authorities but cannot justify withholding certification.

The ruling has garnered praise from voting rights advocates, who expressed concerns that the certification process could become a tool for partisan obstruction. “From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome, and our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision to block it,” said a joint statement by Democratic groups and the Harris campaign, who had joined the lawsuit alongside the Democratic National Committee.

The judge’s rulings underscore the potential for administrative issues when sweeping rule changes are introduced close to election dates, a move many election officials argue undermines their ability to conduct orderly and efficient elections. McBurney’s rulings have momentarily resolved some of these issues, although multiple legal challenges to new election rules remain pending. Additionally, McBurney and other judges will continue to hear further cases filed by state and national Democratic organizations, along with some filed by former Republican lawmakers who challenge additional rule changes introduced by Georgia’s State Election Board.

The controversy around certification procedures, previously considered an administrative formality, has grown since the 2020 election. Trump’s attempts to overturn his loss, followed by multiple allies refusing to certify results in swing states, has turned this process into a point of legal contention.

Georgia, once a reliably Republican state, has become a focal point in national electoral politics, particularly after the narrow victories of President Joe Biden and Democratic senators in 2020. With early voting underway, election rules in the state remain a subject of scrutiny and legal review as both major parties seek to secure procedural transparency and prevent post-election disputes.

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