Update on Georgia election rule change cases

Following the Georgia Supreme Court's refusalto allow some of the State Election Board's recent rule changes to go into effect before the election, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington President Noah Bookbinder released the following statement:

"We are grateful that the Georgia Supreme Court prevented the chaos these rule changes would have caused so close to the election. Election workers need clarity and guidance, while changing rules at the last minute would bring a level of disorder that could disrupt the counting of ballots and mandatory certification of election results."

CREW filed a briefin the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration in Eternal Vigilance Action v. Georgia along with co-counsel Caplan Cobb LLC, and Haynie, Litchfield & White, PC, which builds on a victory we obtained last week in the Fulton County Superior Court in Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration v. State Election Board.That rulingblocked the hand count rule, which would have required poll workers to hand count every ballot (not vote) cast following the close of polls on election night and would have created confusion and disorder in the post-election period.

"These last-minute rule changes are opposed by everyone from the Secretary of State to the State Attorney General to the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials because they would undermine the integrity of this year's election in Georgia. These cases are not about politics, but about protecting election officials and voters from chaos on election day and immediately after it."

While there is some overlap between the two cases, there are still three rules in the Cobb County case that the court has yet to rule on. A decision is expected in the case soon.