Georgia’s top court declined on Tuesday to hear an expedited appeal by Republicans of a decision blocking a new rule that would have required poll workers to hand-count ballots, a change that voting rights groups warned could have caused chaos.
The decision also means that county-level officials in the state, one of seven battlegrounds expected to play a decisive role in the Nov. 5 presidential election, will not have enhanced authority to challenge precinct-level results.
Republican candidate Donald Trump continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss was the result of widespread fraud and his backers have filed a series of lawsuits across the U.S. challenging election rules.
The state Republican Party said in a statement that it did not plan an appeal of the decision before the election.
“It is supremely disappointing to observe yet another failure of our judicial system to expeditiously resolve critical questions about our elections process,” state party Chairman Josh McKoon said in a statement. “We will press our appeal next year.”
The rules, passed by the Georgia board’s Republican majority, would have empowered county election board members to investigate discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and voters in each precinct, and examine troves of election-related documents before certifying their results.
One of the most controversial changes would have required poll workers in each of the state’s more than 6,500 precincts to open the sealed boxes of ballots scanned by machines and conduct a hand count, starting as soon as election night.
One of the most controversial changes would have required poll workers in each of the state’s more than 6,500 precincts to open the sealed boxes of ballots scanned by machines and conduct a hand count, starting as soon as election night.
Voting rights groups had said the rule could allow rogue county election board members to delay or deny certification of election results, throwing the state’s vote into chaos, while the state attorney general’s office warned the board was likely exceeding its statutory authority.
Georgia Supreme Court justices on Tuesday unanimously denied an emergency motion to pause an order blocking the rules and expedite their review of the case, a docket entry showed, meaning the appeal is unlikely to be decided until next year.
Georgia Supreme Court justices on Tuesday unanimously denied an emergency motion to pause an order blocking the rules and expedite their review of the case, a docket entry showed, meaning the appeal is unlikely to be decided until next year.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which intervened in the case to block the rules, praised the decision in a statement, saying the election board had sought to “inject chaos and confusion into our democratic system.”
An election board representative and lawyers for the Republican National Committee, which intervened in the case on the board’s behalf, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.