A trial begins as Democrats sue Georgia’s Election Board over new certification rules, fearing potential delays in counting election results.
A key trial starts on Tuesday about a lawsuit filed by Democrats against new rules by the Georgia State Election Board regarding how county election results are certified.
Supporters of these rules say they’re necessary for ensuring accurate vote totals before final approval.
Still, critics worry they could be used to delay or obstruct the certification process if the Republican nominee Donald Trump loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, causing confusion and distrust in the election results.
This trial will be without a jury and will be led by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney.
The main issues in dispute include a rule that requires county officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying results but doesn’t define what that means and another rule that allows officials to review all election-related documents.
The lawsuit includes the state and national Democratic parties, county election board members, Democratic voters, and two Democratic state lawmakers running for reelection.
They are asking the judge to rule that election superintendents, who are usually part of election boards, don’t have the power to delay or withhold certification.
They also want the judge to declare the new rules invalid if they seem to give such power.
Filed against the State Election Board, which is mostly made up of Republican members who have been praised by Trump, the lawsuit also involves the state and national Republican parties supporting the election board.
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Democrats recognize that the two certification rules might not go against Georgia law but believe these rules were made under the false assumption that certification is optional.
They are concerned that certain election officials who support Trump could use these new rules to unjustifiably delay certifying the election results beyond the legally required deadline.
State lawyers argue that Democrats are just trying to strengthen existing state law, which requires certification to happen by 5 p.m. the Monday after the election, or the next day if Monday is a holiday.
The Republican-led State Election Board has used its authority to pass several election rules recently, often against the objections of the board’s Democratic appointees and its nonpartisan chair.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with the state attorney general’s office, and the association of county election officials have all warned that introducing new rules so close to the election could cause confusion and add extra work for election workers.
New rules have led to many legal disputes. On Monday, Democrats at the state and local level, along with some county election officials, sued against a rule requiring three people to count paper ballots by hand after voting ends on Election Day.
Also, a former Republican lawmaker started a lawsuit against two certification rules, the ballot-counting rule, and other rules made by the board.
