The Georgia Supreme Court has refused to take up an appeal from the Republican Party; this appeal sought to restore controversial last-minute election rules that a lower court had invalidated. In the ruling on October 22, the changes adopted by the Georgia State Election Board, led by a pro-Trump majority, shall remain null.
Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox ruled that the new restrictions were “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The Republican National Committee and the Georgia GOP asked the Supreme Court to expedite overturning that ruling before next week’s Election Day. The justices unanimously refused to intervene or stay the lower court’s decision. Because of this fact, the invalidation of Cox would continue to stay in effect, and, therefore, the appeal will take the due process of law, which may take months to resolve.
These rules targeted by the lawsuit were adopted in late August and September – less than two months before the November 5 election – by the three-member Republican majority on the State Election Board over the stated opposition of the board’s single Democratic member and its non-partisan chair. Supporters of the rules were described as staunch Donald Trump allies and praised by the former president himself as “pit bulls” who would “never give up in their quest for victory.”
Local election officials were also deeply concerned that changing any of these at this stage could confuse both poll workers and voters in the days before the election.
Judge Cox invalidated restrictions, including having three poll workers count ballots by hand after polls closed and changing the certification process for county election results. Critics and opponents, including Democrats and voting rights advocates, said those rules could be manipulated to delay or block certification if Trump lost. On the other hand, however, some Republicans insisted that such rules would give rise to transparency and accountability.
Reactions to the ruling came fast and furious. Scot Turner, a former state representative and leader of the group challenging the rules, said he was pleased election workers would not have to implement new procedures within three weeks of Election Day. He was critical, however, of the Republican Party’s stance, citing: “It’s unfortunate that the Republican Party has lost their affection for defending constitutional principles like separation of powers.”
Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon pushed back hard on the challenged rules, labeling their opponents “utterly stupid and harmful to the public’s confidence” in what is believed to be a close contest. He observed that the court’s inability to reassure speedily was “supremely disappointing. “It is supremely disappointing to observe yet another failure of our judicial system.”
Voting rights groups hailed the court’s decision. Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight, called it “a huge win for Georgia voters and the rule of law,” adding that the invalidated rules were part of a larger scheme to undermine confidence in elections.
