A judge in Georgia on Wednesday invalidated several rules recently passed by the State Election Board (SEB). The rule had been the subject of intense debate between Trump and Harris' representatives in key battleground states.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox ruled in an opinion released Wednesday evening that the new provision is “illegal, unconstitutional, and void,” according to multiple media outlets.
The lawsuit comes hours after he weighed two lawsuits related to the rule. One was led by the Georgia Democratic Party and the other by a civil rights group that included current and former Republican state officials.
One of those measures, a requirement that all ballots be counted by machines and then manually counted by three county election officials after ensuring the totals match, has been implemented in recent weeks. has become a political lightning rod.
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The Trump and Harris campaigns are pouring huge amounts of money into Georgia. (Getty Images)
The rule was temporarily blocked in a separate ruling on Tuesday night challenging SEB's new measures. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney did not dispute the intent of the rule, but argued that implementation at this late stage was unacceptable.
Cox's ruling invalidated that measure, instructing county officials to conduct a “reasonable investigation” before certifying election results, and requiring county officials to “review all election results produced during the conduct of the election.” It also rescinds the rules that gave it the power to “investigate relevant documents.”
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Cox also blocked new signature and photo ID requirements for people dropping off absentee ballots on behalf of others.
The rules were passed last month on a 3-2 vote by the election board's Republican majority.
Democrats accused Republican officials of trying to sow doubt and confusion in the election process, while supporters of the rule changes argued they were necessary guardrails to ensure voter confidence.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney (pictured) blocked one of the measures at issue in Cox's hearing after hearing another case Tuesday. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
In the broader of two lawsuits Wednesday, led by Eternal Vigilance Action, a group founded by former Republican state Rep. Scott Turner, plaintiffs argue that SEB is outside the scope of its authority to impose new rules. He claimed that.
“The three members of the state election board are like Napoleon, with a crown on their heads and saying, 'We are the emperors of elections,'” the plaintiffs' attorney said. “No, that's not how our government system works.”
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But advocacy groups, including attorneys for the defendants and the Georgia Republican Party, argued that the state Legislature gave SEB leeway to create such rules.
“They do not say which of these statutes are unconstitutional, because in order to rule in favor of the plaintiffs here, they would have to find that the General Assembly's grant of authority to the agency was unconstitutional. “Because it's necessary,” the Republican lawyer said.
President Biden won Georgia in 2020 by less than 1 percentage point. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“They haven't said which of the three powers we have, it could be all three, it could be one of the three. And if If it's a challenge to the Constitution, you can't submit something so vague.'' He asks the court to declare it unconstitutional. ”
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Both the campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have dedicated significant time and resources to Georgia, a state that President Biden won by less than 1 percentage point in 2020.
Harris' campaign praised Tuesday's ruling that blocked the hand-counting rule for ballots, declaring that “our democracy is stronger because of this decision.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to both the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
