Judge invalidates new Georgia election rules, including ones on ballot hand count and certification

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge has declared that seven new election rules recently passed by the State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox issued the order Wednesday after holding a hearing on challenges to the rules. The rules that Cox invalidated include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results. He ordered the board to immediately remove the rules and to inform all state and local election officials that the rules are void and not to be followed.