A Georgia judge ruled Wednesday that the State Election Board had no authority to implement seven new rules impacting certification, absentee ballots, and vote counting.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox voided the seven challenged rules, finding that they violated state law, the Georgia Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution, and that the State Election Board “had no authority” to implement them.
“The Court here declares that these rules are illegal, unconstitutional, and void,” Cox wrote in his ruling.
Three of the seven rules received considerable attention—one requiring that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two regarding the certification of election results. Another judge had temporarily halted the hand-count rule the day before….