A hearing was held Tuesday in a lawsuit against the State Election Board (SEB) in Georgia's major counties, with nearly three weeks until voters head to the polls on Nov. 5.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is overseeing a lawsuit filed by the Cobb County Board of Elections earlier this month. The bipartisan board is objecting to a series of new rules imposed by SEB, including requiring county election officials to hand-count ballots after polls close to ensure accurate machine tabulation. It also includes measures to make it mandatory.
The rule has also prompted a lawsuit by Georgia Democratic Party officials, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Cobb County is mostly a suburban area centered on Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta.
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At Tuesday's hearing, SEB lawyers argued that there is no limit to when election rules can be passed, and that certain hand-counting rules apply only to the ballots themselves, and do not count the individual votes cast on the ballots. He pointed out that it is not something that should be done.
“All we're doing is saying (you need to have) a receipt for the vote cast that reflects the number that the machine says was cast,” the lawyer said. Ta.
However, McBurney noted that SEB was “in the final stages” of changing election rules, while its inability to ensure the number of ballots matched the machine count was “commendable.” He admitted that it was a goal.
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“Given what appears to be a fairly solid record that is sowing confusion, especially about the hand count rule, why not pause?” the judge asked the defendant's attorney.
“What I'm asking you from a practical point of view is, if the goal is orderly and reliable elections, why is it wise from a rationality point of view when all these questions are possible? Let's take on the challenge.'' Can anyone answer that without filing a lawsuit? ”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is overseeing the case. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
Republican officials say the rules are important guardrails to give voters confidence in the election, but Democrats say their purpose is to sow doubts in the process.
The Cobb County lawsuit argued that the rule puts election officials in the state in an “untenable position.”
Lawyers assisting the plaintiffs later pointed to state officials who oppose the rule change, including Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“All of them are concerned about the impact of this rule,” the attorney said.
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“In an ideal sterile environment, it would be another thing for fresh, energetic people to sit down and count the ballots…This is not the case. In fact, our petitioner's affidavit states: As usual, poll workers head to polling stations as early as 5:00 a.m., 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., and as late as 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., at the end of the day when people are exhausted. We're talking about adding something on top of 14 to 16 hours.”
Mr McBurney indicated that the case could be held the next day, to which the solicitor responded: “But there are challenges to that, Your Honor.”
The judge said that while the rule for counting ballots by hand “does not directly interfere with ongoing certification efforts,” it “undoubtedly would be a waste of resources.”
However, SEB's lawyers later criticized the plaintiffs' claims as speculation.
“What it reiterates is, quote, “We are concerned that this rule will be adopted at the last minute…We are concerned that there is not enough space in the Cobb County Elections Office.'' Hand-counting rules 'I'm concerned that this could lead to delays,' he said.
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“This is a hypothesis on top of speculation, on speculation. There is no immediate threat here. There is a threat of what could potentially happen if the worst-case scenario occurs, but that alone is not a declarative Not enough to judge.”
McBurney heard the case on the same day he ruled in another Georgia election case, saying county election officials cannot be allowed to delay certifying results because of their own alleged fraud or mistakes. handed down a judgment.
As with nearly every presidential election cycle, this election is expected to see a flurry of lawsuits over vote counts and voter access.
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