Democrats sue to block new Georgia election rule requiring hand counting of ballots

National and Georgia state Democrats filed suit Monday to block a rule adopted 10 days ago by the Georgia State Election Board that would require hand counting of ballots in the election in November.

“The rule violates Georgia law for numerous reasons,” the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Georgia wrote in their complaint, adding that it could introduce “uncertainty” into the effort to tally votes and delay certification of the state’s election results.

The board, which has a newly minted pro-Trump majority, approved a requirement on Sept. 20 that ballots be counted by hand after machines tally the votes. The rule would require trios of precinct poll managers and poll officers to unseal ballot boxes and count the ballots by hand individually to ensure the tallies match the machine-counted ballot totals.

In their lawsuit, Democrats asked a Georgia court to “swiftly block the rule’s implementation before it can go into effect and wreak havoc on the general election.”

In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris’ principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks noted that some top Georgia Republican officials oppose the new hand count rule. The lawsuit cites comments made by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, claiming the new rule was unlikely to survive a legal challenge.

“We agree with Georgia’s Republican Attorney General and Secretary of State: This rule is unproductive and unlawful, and we are fighting it,” Fulks said. “Democrats are stepping in to ensure that Georgia voters can cast their ballots knowing that they will be counted in a free and fair election.”

Representatives for the Georgia State Election Board did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Supporters of the ballot-counting rule say it will increase public trust in elections by making them more transparent. 

The Georgia election rules 

At the meeting where the hand counting rule was passed earlier this month, a number of people addressed the board, lamenting that the rule could lead to more errors in calculating results. They also spoke of the challenges it would create for poll workers. 

“Asking our election asking our election workers to do this on every voting day is asking for errors,” said Kristin Nabers, the state director for the nonpartisan organization All Voting is Local. “I’ve personally watched multiple counties conduct full hand counts over the past year. It’s normal that many times an hour we can expect small errors to be made, the type of thing where someone’s count is off by one or two, this would result in having to count again.”

Nabers had another woman standing next to her at the podium holding a large stack of papers. She said the 1,872 pages represented what a stack of ballots could look like on counting day. “I have someone helping me hold the stack because I was too worried it would fall on the floor and make a mess,” she said. “Like, imagine if those were ballots.”

Barbara Gooby, a poll manager from Chatham County, said the rule could “introduce huge opportunities for chaos, error, voter insecurity and therefore … lawsuits.” 

On Monday, Rep. Nikema Williams, the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, highlighted the role of three members of the election board who, like former President Donald Trump, have questioned the 2020 election results after he lost the state.

“Experts and non-partisan officials across Georgia have warned that this eleventh-hour election rule change will inject chaos, confusion and uncertainty into our elections — but that is exactly the outcome that Donald Trump’s three ‘pit bulls’ for ‘victory’ on the State Election Board want,” Williams said in a statement to CBS News.

During an Aug. 3 rally in Atlanta, Trump pointed out those election board members in the audience and thanked them by name, saying Janice Johnston, Rick Jaffares and Janelle King were “pit bulls” fighting for his cause. He also criticized the other two members of the board, saying “we have a couple of other members that aren’t so good.”

A bench trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday stemming from a separate lawsuit filed by Democrats, claiming two other rules passed by the board this year — on 3-2 votes — would delay certification.

One rule enables local county boards in Georgia’s 159 counties to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying the election results. The second rule allows them “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.” It also allows them to make sure there are no discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and the number of people who voted.

Trump and others in his orbit were charged with felonies in August 2023 by the Fulton County district attorney, accused of racketeering and other crimes in their effort to overturn the 2020 election. He has denied all allegations. Several of the charges against Trump have since been dropped.