Election Board Rules Face Legal Scrutiny. Credit | REUTERS
United States – On Tuesday, a judge in Georgia is expected to weigh an appeal of rules the new, GOP-dominated state election board instituted before the U.S. election on Nov. 5 in what Democrats claim is an effort to cast doubt on the outcome.
Election Board Changes and Their Implications
In the Georgia Election Board, August allowed county election board members to analyze the differences between the current vote tallies and the number of voters in the precinct. They also investigated the numerous documents connected to the elections before putting their seal of approval on it. Its 3-2 split was led by three friends of the former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who Democrats Joe Biden defeated in Georgia in the 2020 polls and has been spreading falsehoods about mass voting fraud.
Georgia is among the decisive seven swing states that hold the key in the face-off between Democrat Kamala Harris and the incumbent Republican Donald Trump.
The non-jury trial before Judge Robert McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta does not relate to another controversial policy decision of the board. Democrats on Monday sought a condemnation in an attempt to quash a decision by the board made on Sept. 20, which insists on a hand count of ballots.
Legal Challenges and Responses
Georgian Secretary of State and Republican, Brad Raffensperger criticised the board’s manoeuvre as it would subvert the confidence of the public on the election process and would be burdensome to the election staff.
The board majority has claimed that all different new rules are aimed at increasing the election’s security and openness. Trump who recently announced his bid for the presidency has had three of his allies on the board described as ‘pit bulls’.
Democratic Lawsuit and Concerns
The national and state Democratic parties sued the Georgia election board on August 26, hoping to get the August rules thrown out and stating that Georgia’s election results must be certified by November 12th, one week after the general election.
“These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the post-election process,” the Democrats wrote in their Aug. 26 petition opening the lawsuit.
Election board attorneys argued that the new regulations prohibit election managers from postponing certification, brushing off Democratic worries that panel probes may result in delays as mere conjecture.
The new regulations, Democrats claimed in a filing, would “invite chaos” by granting county-level inspectors the authority to look for suspected fraud and perhaps postpone certification. They noted there are alternative ways to challenge disputed election results and that state law requires certification of results.
