A judge has blocked a recent rule that mandated Georgia Election Day ballots to be counted by hand after voting concluded.

This decision came just one day after the same judge ruled that county election officials must certify election results within the legally prescribed timeframe.

The State Election Board had passed this rule last month, requiring three poll workers to manually count the paper ballots—though not the votes—after polls closed.

The Cobb County election board, based in Atlanta’s suburbs, had filed a lawsuit aiming to invalidate this rule along with five others recently introduced by the state board. The lawsuit claimed that these rules overstepped the state board’s authority, weren’t properly implemented according to the law, and were unreasonable.

In his ruling late Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney stated that the hand-count rule was “too much, too late” and issued an order blocking its enforcement as he considers the legal issues.

Earlier, on Monday, McBurney ruled in a separate case that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”

He wrote that although officials are allowed to inspect an election and review related documents, “any delay in receiving such information is not a basis for refusing to certify the election results or abstaining from doing so.”

Georgia law requires county election superintendents, typically composed of multi-member boards, to certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday following an election, or on Tuesday if Monday is a holiday, as it is this year.

These two rulings came just as early in-person voting started in Georgia on Tuesday.

The decisions were hailed as victories by Democrats, liberal voting rights advocates, and some legal experts, who had raised concerns that allies of Donald Trump might refuse to certify election results if he loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.

They have also warned that recent rules approved by the Trump-backed majority on the State Election Board could delay or even prevent certification, potentially eroding public confidence in the results.

When blocking the hand count rule, McBurney pointed out that there were no guidelines or training available for its execution, and the secretary of state had stated that the rule was enacted too late for meaningful training or support to be provided.

The judge further noted that no provisions had been made in county election budgets to cover the additional personnel or expenses necessary for implementing the rule.

“The administrative chaos that will — not may — ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections (and the SEB) to ensure that our elections are fair, legal, and orderly,” McBurney wrote.

While he acknowledged that the state board may have thought the rule was a reasonable policy, McBurney emphasized that its timing made its implementation “quite wrong.”

He referenced the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, which aimed to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, stating, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”

During an earlier hearing on Tuesday, Robert Thomas, a lawyer for the State Election Board, argued that the counting process was not difficult and would only add a few extra minutes to complete, not hours.

Thomas also suggested that memory cards from scanners, used to tally votes, could be sent to the tabulation center during the hand count, which would prevent any delays in the reporting of results.

Democratic organizations that supported Cobb County’s lawsuit, along with Harris’ campaign, celebrated McBurney’s ruling in a joint statement: “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.”

The certification case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the election board in Fulton County, which is largely Democratic.

Adams sought a ruling that her role as an election board member was discretionary and that she should have “full access” to “election materials.”

The certification of election results, a task previously viewed as a routine administrative matter, has gained political significance since Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden.

Republican officials in battleground states, including Adams, had previously refused to certify results, and some have even sued to avoid being compelled to approve election outcomes.

Adams, supported by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, argued that county election board members should have the discretion to reject certification.

Her legal team also argued earlier this month that county election officials could refuse to certify results if they suspected problems, even if it meant excluding certain ballots.

McBurney ruled that nothing in Georgia law grants county election officials the authority to declare fraud or decide what action should be taken.

He explained that Georgia law stipulates that any concerns about fraud or errors should be reported to the appropriate authorities but do not allow a superintendent to refuse certification.

The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia had joined the lawsuit as defendants, with Harris’ campaign calling the ruling a “major legal win.”

Adams responded by stating that McBurney’s decision made it clear that she and other county election officials “cannot be barred from access to elections in their counties.”

The flood of new rules passed by the State Election Board since August has prompted a series of lawsuits.

Earlier this month, McBurney heard a challenge to two certification-related rules brought by both state and national Democratic parties.

Another Fulton County judge is scheduled to hear arguments tomorrow in two more challenges—one brought by the Democratic groups and another by a former Republican lawmaker. Separate challenges are also ongoing in at least two other counties.

{Matzav.com}