A trial begins Tuesday over controversial new rules in Georgia for certifying election results. The rules were passed in August by the embattled Georgia State Election Board and have sparked concerns about disruptions following the presidential election in November.
The new rules could result in local election boards attempting to vote against certifying election results if they report finding irregularities they cannot rectify on their own. But Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, says local boards do not have this discretion under Georgia law and must certify election results by the state deadline, with election challenges resolved by the courts.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit over the new rules, which include the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic National Committee, want a judge to affirm that read of state law, declaring Georgia law makes the certification of election results a mandatory duty.
The lawsuit has the backing of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The office of Georgia’s Republican Attorney General Chris Carr represents the State Election Board and is asking the judge to dismiss the case on several grounds.
“Petitioners’ arguments fail because the crux of their argument for invalidity is based not on the text of the rules themselves, but the alleged intent of the individuals who initially presented the rules to the board,” the state wrote in a brief.
The case will be heard by Fulton Superior Judge Robert McBurney.
Since the 2020 election, supporters of former President Donald Trump have repeatedly attempted to stall or halt certification of election results in several swing states. This year, several local election board members in Georgia have already voted against or abstained from certifying results.
In all of these cases, these members were outvoted or the courts or state officials stepped in. But election law experts fear that even attempts to disrupt certification could allow misinformation or disinformation about the integrity of the election to take root.
The three Republicans on the State Election Board have come under fire for muscling through several last-minute election rule changes amid praise from Trump, including hand counting the number of ballots cast on election day.
The move alarmed many local officials, who pressed the board to pause any rule changes, with poll worker training already underway and the first ballots beginning to go out.
On Monday, the state and national Democratic parties also filed a suit challenging the hand count rules. Another lawsuit against that measure is also pending.
