A Georgia judge invalidated new election rules approved by the state’s Republican-controlled election board, calling them unconstitutional and in violation of state law. The ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox applies to a hand-count rule for Election Day ballots and rules related to the certification of results. Cox stated that the board had no authority to implement these rules, deeming them illegal, unconstitutional, and void. The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office and the state election board did not immediately comment on the ruling. The ruling came after another judge blocked a rule requiring hand-counted ballots on Election Day and ruled that county election boards could not refuse to certify results. Critics argued that the hand-count rule would cause delays in reporting final results. The state recently began early in-person voting, with a record-breaking 300,000 ballots tallied on the first day. Georgia was a battleground state in the 2020 election, with former President Trump narrowly losing to President Biden.
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