Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday against the Georgia State Election Board to block two new rules that would allow local election officials to delay the certification of election results, arguing that the rules invite post-election “chaos.”
Earlier this month, the election board, which is dominated by pro-Trump Republicans, voted to give local election officials the power to conduct a “reasonable inquiry into election results” before certification and to require that county officials be given “all election related documentation” beforehand.
The suit, filed by the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic National Committee, argues that the rules imply that local election officials can use their own personal judgment when deciding whether to certify election results.
“According to their drafters, these rules rest on the assumption that certification of election results by a county board is discretionary and subject to free-ranging inquiry that may delay certification or foreclose it entirely. But that is not the law in Georgia,” the suit reads.
Democrats argue that the Republican-led election board is now exceeding its legal authority. The suit asks that the court to invalidate the rules and affirm that any claims of election fraud should be handled by the courts, not by the election board.
“The three members Donald Trump called his ‘pit bulls’ for ‘victory’ disagree, and they’re determined to establish a new power of not certifying an election result should their preferred candidate lose — as he did in 2020,” Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won Georgia by just over 12,000 votes, breaking a 30-year Republican hold on the state in presidential elections. The loss sparked a months-long fight, led by former President Donald Trump, to overturn the election results, eventually leading to Trump’s indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
With just over two months to go until the 2024 presidential election and Georgia proving to be a key battleground state, pro-Trump Republicans in Georgia argue the rules will “benefit all Georgians” and ensure a county election board thoroughly examines election results before they are certified.
“In no way, do these rule changes interfere with anyone’s right to vote or cause undue burdens on election workers,” Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia GOP, said in a statement. “But these steps will ensure transparency, accountability, accurate reporting and reconciliation, and preservation of the right for both parties to observe the processing of ballots.”
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