Challenge by US Democrats to Georgia Election Rules Goes to Trial

A Georgia judge on Tuesday is set to consider a challenge to new rules implemented by the state's Republican-controlled election board, as Democrats seek to undo last-minute changes they have said are designed to undermine trust in the results of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

The Georgia Election Board in August empowered county election board members to investigate discrepancies between the numbers of ballots cast and voters in each precinct, and examine a trove of election-related documents before certifying their results.

Its 3-2 vote was powered by three allies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who lost to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia in 2020 and made claims of widespread voting fraud.

Georgia is one of seven closely contested states that are expected to determine the outcome of the presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. The non-jury trial before Judge Robert McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta does not involve another contentious policy move by the board.

Democrats on Monday sued in a bid to block the board's Sept. 20 decision to require a hand count of ballots.

Republican Brad Raffensperger, who as secretary of state is Georgia's top election official, has said that the board's "11th-hour" changes would undermine voter confidence and burden election workers.

The board's majority has said the various new rules are intended to make the election more secure and transparent. Trump, seeking a return to the presidency, has praised his three allies on the board as "pit bulls."

The national and state Democratic parties sued the Georgia election board on Aug. 26, seeking to invalidate the August rules and declare that the state's election results must be certified by Nov. 12, a week after Election Day.

"These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the post-election process," the Democrats wrote in their Aug. 26 petition opening the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the election board said the new rules do not permit election administrators to delay certification, dismissing as speculative the Democratic concerns that investigations by the panel may cause delays.

Democrats argued in a filing that the new rules would "invite chaos" by giving county-level officials license to hunt for alleged fraud and potentially delay certification. They said certification of election results is mandatory under state law, and that other avenues exist to contest disputed results.