ATLANTA — A Georgia judge has declared that seven new election rules recently passed by the State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional and void.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox issued the order Wednesday after holding a hearing on challenges to the rules. 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 legal decision is part of a series of ongoing lawsuits related to new election rules, with early voting already underway.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray has been following the legal developments closely.
The flurry of last-second election rule changes over the past few months has led to multiple lawsuits, and now several judges are ruling on these issues.
“We’re kinda playing whack-a-mole here across the state with various rules that are popping up,” said Chris Anulewicz, an attorney involved in the case.
One lawsuit, brought forward by a former Republican state senator, challenges the Election Board’s authority to issue seven controversial new election rules.
“Here three members of the state election board, kind of like Napoleon, put a crown on their head and said we are the emperors of elections. No, that is not the way our system of government works,” Anulewicz commented.
“The General Assembly can’t foresee every particular circumstance in a changing environment. That’s why we have executive branch agencies to start with because they are the subject matter experts,” attorney Brad Carver said.
On Tuesday evening, Judge Robert McBurney blocked the rule requiring hand-counting of ballots at every polling place until at least after the upcoming election.
In his order, McBurney noted, “Memories of Jan. 6 have not faded away, regardless of one’s view of that date’s fame or infamy. Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”
Cox expressed skepticism of the hand-counting rule.
“Requiring poll workers to hand count before ballots are secured and sent to an official tabulating center institutes a chain of custody situation I wouldn’t allow in this courtroom,” Cox said.
As a result of McBurney’s decision, the hand-counting rule is blocked for the current election.
The State Election Board, which is controlled by three Republicans endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has passed several rules in recent months mostly dealing with the processes that happen after ballots are cast. Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election but claimed without proof that widespread fraud cost him victory in the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.