Democrats sue Georgia election board over ballot hand-count rule

Democrats, with the support of the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, have sued Georgia over a new rule requiring counties to hand-count election ballots.

The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of Georgia, seeks to overturn a requirement enacted earlier this month stipulating that election workers count ballots, though not each vote on them, before delivering them to the county for tabulation.

The lawsuit says its goal is to “protect the sanctity of the state’s laws and to prevent election night chaos,” according to NBC News.

The Georgia State Election Board passed the initial rule on a 3-2 vote, and in doing so earned praise from former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.

The lawsuit alleges that the so-called Hand Count Rule “violates foundational limits on agencies that are intended to avoid precisely the scenario here—an unelected body unilaterally making significant changes to the law without notice or explanation,” NBC News reported.

Detractors also say that the Hand Count Rule could unnecessarily delay the reporting of results, and they note that Georgia’s Republican attorney general and secretary of state share their concerns.

“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,” DNC acting co-executive director Monica Guardiola said in a statement.

That case is scheduled for trial before a Fulton County judge on Tuesday, NBC News reported.