Democrats sued the Georgia State Election Board on Monday over their newly passed rule requiring officials to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day, asking a state court to declare it unlawful as well as blocking it from going into effect.
The suit was filed in Fulton County Superior Court by both the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia and contests a new rule adopted by a 3-2 vote by the state election board on September 20th.
The rule requires the poll manager and a team of two other workers in each voting precinct to separate ballots into stacks of 50 and hand-count them. They must all agree on the total count and ensure that it matches the totals from the machine tabulation. They'd also have to unanimously agree on any inconsistencies and correct them.
“To protect the sanctity of the state’s laws and to prevent election night chaos, this Court should declare that the Hand Count Rule exceeds [the state election board’s] statutory authority and enjoin that rule from going into effect,” the complaint filed on Monday reads.
The lawsuit claims the new rule is illegal for several reasons. First, there is no hand-count requirement outlined in Georgia law, and the state election board can't enact requirements beyond what is written in the state's statute.
Second, imposing a hand count this close to an election would cause disorder, going against the board’s mandate to ensure orderly elections, the complaint says. Last, Democrats claim the board did not follow proper procedures to enact the measures.