As early voting begins in Georgia, a record number of ballots have been cast — according to CNN, over 328,000. However, a Fulton County judge has just announced he will block a controversial rule requiring hand counts of Election Day ballots after the polls close.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said that, because the rule comes so close to the election, it would cause “administrative chaos”.
“[T]he public interest is not disserved by pressing pause here,” McBurney wrote. “This election season is fraught; memories of January 6 have not faded away, regardless of one’s view of that date’s fame or infamy.”
The judge’s decision benefits Democrats who sued after the state election board voted 3-2 in favor of the hand-counting rule last month.
“In sum, the Hand Count Rule is contrary to the Election Code, exceeds the Board’s rulemaking authority” and “violates foundational limits on agencies that are intended to avoid precisely the scenario here—an unelected body unilaterally making significant changes to the law without notice or explanation,” the Democrats’ lawsuit claims.
