A judge in the US state of Georgia has blocked seven new state election regulations championed by Republican Donald Trump after finding that they would unnecessarily interfere with the voting process.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox on Wednesday struck down a rule requiring ballots to be counted by hand and two other rules related to the certification of election results.
“The rules at issue exceed or conflict with specific provisions of the Election Code,” Judge Cox wrote in his ruling. Therefore, the challenged rules are illegal and void.”
Early voting began in Georgia on Tuesday, with a record number of votes cast in the key swing state ahead of election day on November 5.
More than 459,000 people voted in person or by mail on the first day of voting – more than triple the previous record of 136,000 in 2020, officials said.
About five million votes for president were cast in Georgia that year, with Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by just under 12,000 votes.
Trump refused to accept the results. He is currently fighting criminal charges that he illegally attempted to change the results.
A recording of the phone call shows him telling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
A judge overseeing the case in Georgia later dismissed charges related to that phone call and five others.
The Georgia prosecutor pursuing the case against Trump, Fani Willis, on Tuesday asked an appeals court to reinstate six dismissed charges.
The hand counting rule rejected Wednesday would have required three poll workers in the state’s more than 6,500 precincts to open machine-scanned ballot boxes to count them and check for matches.
Critics say the rule could slow the reporting of election results while supporters argue it would add minutes instead of hours to counting.
The regulations have been criticized by Democrats since they were passed by the Republican-controlled State Election Commission in August.
In a speech that month, Trump praised Republican council members, calling them “pit bulls who fight for transparency, honesty and victory.”
In his ruling, Judge Cox also criticized the rule requiring county officials to conduct a “reasonable investigation” before certifying results, saying the rule “adds an undetermined step.” into the certification process”.
Another disabled provision involved language allowing county election officials to “inspect all election-related documents produced during the conduct of an election.”
Supporters argue that those rules would ensure vote totals are accurately counted before they are signed. Critics say it could be used to delay or deny certification.
The hand-counting rule was blocked in Tuesday’s ruling from another judge, who found that “implementing the 11½-hour hand-counting rule” would reduce public confidence in the results and lead to “administrative chaos”. “.
“This year’s election season is full of memories of January 6 [the 2021 US Capitol riot] has not faded, regardless of one’s view of the fame or infamy of that day,” Justice Robert McBurney wrote.
“Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the election process will be detrimental to the public.”
Harris’ campaign welcomed Tuesday’s vote counting ruling, calling it an attempt to sow doubt in the voting process.
In a separate decision Monday, Judge McBurney ruled that election board members must certify the results of the vote, after a Republican appointee to the board refused to certify the results. results of the Georgia presidential primary election earlier this year.
Georgia, nicknamed the Peach State, is one of seven key swing states expected to decide the contest between Trump and Harris.
