Georgia judge blocks rule requiring counties to hand-count Election Day ballots

A Georgia judge on Tuesday blocked a new rule from the state’s election board that would have required counties to count ballots cast on Election Day by hand, a provision critics had said would cause delays in reporting results in the battleground state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his decision that the rule was implemented too close to Election Day and would cause “administrative chaos.”

“Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public,” he wrote.

The temporary injunction, which is likely to be appealed, is a win for Democrats who filed the suit after the Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 last month to require counties to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day.

The rule required election workers to count the number of ballots — not every vote on a ballot — cast on Nov. 5 before they are delivered to the county for counting and tabulation, sparking concerns it could unnecessarily delay the reporting of results and sow uncertainty.

It was approved by three board members who’ve been praised by former President Donald Trump, and was opposed by Democrats in the state, as well as by the Republican secretary of state and attorney general. 

Days after the vote, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia, with support from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, filed suit in a Fulton County court, seeking that the new rule be blocked.

Hand-counting ballots has captured the attention of many on the right in recent years in response to baseless claims about hacked voting machines, despite ample evidence that counting by hand is more expensive and less accurate than using ballot tabulators.

Trump has repeatedly praised the three board members who passed the measure, saying they’re “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

The three members are Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King. Johnson was appointed to the board by the state Republican Party, while Jeffares was appointed by the Republican-controlled state Senate and King by the GOP-led state House. The two members who voted against the measure were appointed by the state’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, and the state Democratic Party.

In August, the same Georgia board members passed other new rules that would allow county election board members to conduct “reasonable” inquiries before they certify results.

Critics say that could throw the election into chaos because “reasonable inquiry” isn’t defined, and an individual board member could block certification for any reason. That ruling is the subject of another Democratic-led lawsuit.