Democrats sue to stop hand counts of Georgia ballots by poll workers

ATLANTA — The Democratic Party sued Monday to stop a new Georgia election rule that would require poll workers to count the number of ballots after polls close, saying it would cause “problems and delays.”

The lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, seeks to invalidate the hand-counting requirement approved by the State Election Board this month, which could create delays in reporting results in the presidential election.

“This rule is nothing more than a blatant attempt by Donald Trump and his MAGA lackeys on the Georgia State Election Board to cast doubt on our elections and undermine the outcome,” said Monica Guardiola, acting co-executive director of the Democratic National Committee.

The lawsuit is backed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

The rule requires a count of the number of ballots cast, not a count of which candidate received more votes. Vote totals are reported separately.

Supporters of the hand-counting rule, which passed on a 3-2 vote by the board’s Republican majority, said it is needed to ensure that all ballots are accounted for after polls close. Trump had praised the members who approved it as “pit bulls” during an Atlanta rally in August.

“It’s the perfect time to count the ballots anyway, and it’s better to do it at the beginning than try to do it at the end when you don’t have a remedy for a miscount,” board member Janice Johnston said before approving the rule.

The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee and the Georgia Democratic Party, asked a judge to throw out the hand-count rule, which would go into effect just before the election.

The court case alleges that the rule contradicts state law and undermines orderly administration of elections.

A separate lawsuit by Democrats that contests new requirements for certifying elections is heading to a trial Tuesday.

That case challenges new State Election Board rules that call for a “reasonable inquiry” before county election boards certify the results, and that allow election board members to examine “all election related documentation.”

Critics of the certification rules say they could provide a justification for election boards to reject the results if their candidate loses.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey found at least 19 election board members, almost all of them Republicans, have voted against certifying elections since 2020.

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