A Georgia judge temporarily halted a new election rule on Tuesday that would have required counties to hand-count ballots in the upcoming presidential election. This decision, made by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, blocks the rule from being implemented on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Why It Matters
The Georgia State Election Board’s (SEB) decision to enforce hand-counting ballots raised concerns about potential delays in reporting results and confusion among voters in this critical swing state. Judge McBurney’s preliminary injunction alleviates these concerns, ensuring that the rule will not go into effect until after Election Day.
The ruling came as early in-person voting began across Georgia with record turnout. The hand-count rule had been praised by former President Donald Trump, but McBurney’s decision is seen as a setback for his supporters.
Driving the News
Cobb County election officials, along with the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic Party, challenged the SEB’s decision. They warned that the hand-count rule could lead to “election night chaos,” especially in highly populated areas like the Atlanta metropolitan region.
In his eight-page ruling, McBurney acknowledged that the SEB may have acted with good intentions in passing the rule, but he criticized the timing of its introduction, calling it “too much, too late.” He emphasized that pressing pause on the rule would not harm the public, stating, “Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public.”
The State of Play
Under the SEB’s proposed rule, each polling place would have required three sworn poll officers to independently hand-count ballots on Nov. 5 or 6. The results from the hand count would need to match the scanner recap forms, and any inconsistencies would have to be resolved by the poll manager. Judge McBurney called these requirements too demanding to implement in the short time before the election.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who opposed the rule, described it as “misguided.” With this injunction in place, Georgia’s election officials will continue to rely on the existing machine-based ballot counting methods for the upcoming presidential election.
The ruling is likely to be appealed, but for now, the hand-count rule will not disrupt Georgia’s electoral process on Election Day.