A tale of two lawsuits
The State Election Board has been a magnet for controversy since passing a number of rules this year. Supporters of these rules, including the Republican majority of the board, say they will promote election integrity.
The SEB’s decisions have sparked several lawsuits aiming to block their implementation. Tuesday evening, a Fulton County judge did not grant a Republican attempt to expedite an appeal of a decision that nullified several rules, including one that would require a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before election certification. Because the appeal will not be expedited, those rules will not be in place for the election in November.
That wasn’t the lawsuit in question for Athens-Clarke County’s Board of Elections, however.
In another lawsuit filed by Cobb County, a judge struck down a State Election Board rule requiring a hand count of ballots.
The anticipation of an appeal by Republicans prompted the ACC Board of Elections to debate whether to support Cobb County by signing an amicus brief.
That appeal had not been filed Tuesday evening at the time of the meeting.
The Resolution
After debating whether any action was necessary, the ACC Board of Elections voted to pass a resolution allowing staff to work with the Muskogee County Board of Elections, which will write the brief. The staff will then bring any recommendations back to the board for further action.
Board Chair Rocky Raffle, who was appointed by the local Democratic Party, spoke after the meeting. According to him, the hand counting measure passed by the SEB is unnecessary.
“It’s a burden on our staff after a long election day. Polls open at 7 but they get there at 5 or 6 am. Going an entire day there’s room for human error and the process is already clear and true. There’s multiple checks and balances within the counting process that already exist.”
Board member Ann Till, who was appointed by the local Republican Party, was the only member to vote no on the resolution.
