Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is in a celebratory mood after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected a Republican effort to reinstate new ballot security rules before Election Day.
“Georgia's Donald Trump and his MAGA 'pit bulls' tried to disrupt the election and cast doubt on the results, but Democrats have time and time again defeated Georgians,” Harris said in a joint statement. “I have taken a resolute stance to protect everyone's votes.” – Walz campaign spokesman Charles Rutbach, Democratic National Committee rapid response director Alex Floyd, and Georgia Democratic Party communications director Dave Hoffman said Tuesday night.
The “pit bull” comment was a reference to the three members of the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), who passed the rule change on a 3-2 vote last month. Former President Trump praised the three men by name at a rally in Georgia in August, calling them “pit bulls who fight for integrity, transparency, and victory.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is celebrating Republican legal setback in Georgia. (Getty Images)
The Democratic Party's statement to Fox News Digital added, “More than 1 million Georgians have already voted, and today's ruling will leave even more Georgians voting, knowing they cannot interfere with the election results even if Trump loses again.” It means a million people can vote.” . ”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The statement comes after the state Supreme Court unanimously accepted the Republican National Committee's (RNC) request for an early appeal of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox's decision that the SEB's new measures were “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.” The announcement was made several hours after the decision was unanimously rejected.
The appeal is expected to proceed on its normal schedule, which would mean the new SEB rules would not take effect until after Election Day.
Among the most controversial rules were the requirement that each precinct's ballots be counted by hand by three separate county employees to ensure the totals matched the numbers counted by machines; There was a provision directing the county commission to “certify election results only after a reasonable outcome has been obtained.'' In particular, an investigation into its accuracy.”
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The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously denied the RNC's request for an emergency appeal. (Georgia Supreme Court)
“The hand-count rule disrupts election administration across Georgia and will cause further disruption after Nov. 5,” Democrats wrote in a court brief ahead of Tuesday's state high court ruling. “Given Georgia's established policy, it would impose concrete and irreparable harm with no countervailing benefits.'' Rigorous vote counting and tabulation procedures. ”
SEB actions that Cox struck down include stronger ID requirements for people delivering absentee ballots to drop boxes and rules requiring video surveillance of drop boxes so that votes cast there can be counted. was also included.
Supporters of the rule, including state and county Republican officials, said it was a necessary guardrail to ensure voter confidence in this year's elections.
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Approximately 2 million Georgia voters cast their ballots before Election Day. (Getty Images)
But Democrats argued it was intended to sow confusion and suspicion throughout the election process.
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Republican opponents of the rule, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and several county officials, say it would be impossible to implement the rule so close to the election and would cause further delays. said.
Meanwhile, about 2 million Georgia voters have already cast their ballots before Election Day, or more than 1 in 4 voters.
President Biden won Georgia by less than 1% in 2020, making it a key battleground for both parties.
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