Georgia Supreme Court to Review Controversial Election Rules

On Oct. 18, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Georgia Republican Party challenging a ruling earlier that week declaring seven last-minute election rules invalid and unconstitutional.
In their order taking on the appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court noted that it usually lacks jurisdiction over such cases but agreed to hear it because it presents “issues of gravity and public importance.”
The Georgia Supreme Court will weigh in on the new controversial rules passed by the state election board.
Sign up for our free newsletters so you never miss a new lawsuit or court decision that could impact who takes the White House this fall.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox, Jr. permanently blocked the rules Oct. 16 after finding the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) exceeded its authority when enacting them. Additionally, he found that the new rules conflicted with existing state election laws and the U.S. Constitution.
The RNC and Georgia Republican Party — intervenors in the original case — filed an appeal Oct. 18. On Oct. 19, they asked the state Supreme Court to pause Cox’s ruling and allow the rules to go into effect while the appeal continues. A decision on this request is expected soon.
The new SEB rules were passed Sept. 20, less than 50 days before the general election. They include new requirements for the ballot counting and certification process that election officials worry will delay results and sow chaos. If the pause is granted, the rules are set to go into effect Oct. 22.
Last update, Oct. 16
A judge ruled Wednesday that seven election rules impacting certification, absentee ballots and vote counting in Georgia violate state law. The rules are currently not set to go into effect for the Nov. 5 general election.
On Thursday, the Republican National Committee and Georgia Republican Party — intervenors in the case — appealed the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Fulton County Judge Thomas A. Cox, Jr. wrote that the new State Election Board (SEB) rules were inconsistent with existing election laws and that the SEB “lacked constitutional authority” in enacting them. Additionally, he determined that the rules were unconstitutional because only the state legislature — not the SEB — can regulate the time, place and manner of elections for federal offices.
A different Fulton County judge temporarily blocked the Hand Count Rule, one of the rules in question, in a case decided Tuesday. Cox’s ruling permanently strikes it down.
Two Georgia Republicans and a non-profit organization, Eternal Vigilance Action, filed the lawsuit against the SEB in September challenging four election rules that impact election certification and absentee voting.
The four rules include:
- The Reasonable Inquiry Rule, which would require local election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into the completeness and accuracy of election results before certifying them;
- The Examination Rule, which would allow individual county election board members to examine all documents related to an election before certifying the results;
- The Drop Box Rule, which would require voters to provide a signature and photo ID when dropping off an absentee ballot at a drop box; and
- The Surveillance Rule, which would require election officials to install video surveillance at all drop boxes and invalidate ballots from drop boxes without video surveillance.
On Sept. 25, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint challenging additional rules passed by the SEB. These include:
- The Poll Watcher Rule that expands the areas where poll watchers can be positioned;
- The Daily Reporting Rule, which adds further requirements to what is already required in daily absentee ballot reports submitted by county boards of registrars; and
- The Hand Count Rule, which requires election officials to hand count ballots on Election Day.
In their amended complaint, the plaintiffs wrote, “[t]he SEB’s willful violation of the Georgia Constitution and the Election Code when the 2024 election is already well underway and on the eve of early voting and of Election Day risks destabilizing Georgia’s voting, vote counting, and vote certification process.”
In both complaints, the plaintiffs asked the court to stop the SEB from enforcing these rules.
The rules were pushed by three Republican members of the SEB — Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King — who have been praised by name by former President Donald Trump. At a Georgia rally in August, Trump called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”
This post was updated Oct. 18 to reflect the Republican appeal.
Original post, Sept. 11
Two Georgia Republicans and a non-profit organization filed a lawsuit challenging anti-democratic rules passed by the MAGA members of the State Election Board (SEB).
This lawsuit follows a similar case the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Georgia Democratic Party filed last month against the election board.
The Republicans challenged two of the same Georgia election board rules that the Democrats did — one stating officials can only certify an election after conducting a “reasonable inquiry” into the results and another allowing county election members to examine all election-related documents. Both of these rules were passed in August, and one went into effect on Sept. 4 and the other will on Sept. 16.
The plaintiffs — former state legislator Scot Turner (R), Turner’s organization Eternal Vigilance Action and Chatham County election board member James Hall (R) — also challenged the constitutionality of two additional rules passed in August that went into effect on Sept. 4.
One rule required voters who drop off an absentee ballot at a drop box location to provide a signature and photo ID. The other rule requires video surveillance at ballot drop boxes and states that ballots placed in non-monitored drop boxes should not be counted.
All of these rules have been pushed by the three Republicans on the five-member board who have said they view election certification not as a ministerial or mandatory duty, but as a discretionary act, and have been praised by former President Donald Trump.
The GOP plaintiffs argued in their lawsuit that the unelected board members’ rules are “an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority” and “that the General Assembly lacks authority to convey any legislative rulemaking to the SEB.”
Specifically, they claimed the board members do not have the authority to pass rules that “change the role or authority of any superintendent regarding the certification of election results” and violate “the statutory process regarding the availability of absentee ballot drop boxes.”
The plaintiffs claimed these rules not only violated the state’s election laws but also “therefore fundamentally altered Georgians’ voting rights.”
The Republicans asked a state court to strike down these new rules and all SEB rules as unconstitutional and block the state of Georgia and the SEB from enforcing them.
The state has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Learn more about the Republicans’ case here.