Georgia election rules up for trial after challenge by Democrats

A Georgia judge on Tuesday is set to consider a challenge to new rules implemented by the state's Republican-controlled election board, as Democrats seek to undo last-minute changes they have said are designed to undermine trust in the results of the November 5 US election.

The Georgia Election Board in August empowered county election board members to investigate discrepancies between the numbers of ballots cast and voters in each precinct, and examine a trove of election-related documents before certifying their results. Its 3-2 vote was powered by three allies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who lost to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia in 2020 and made false claims of widespread voting fraud.

Georgia is one of seven closely contested states that are expected to determine the outcome of the presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

The non-jury trial before Judge Robert McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta does not involve another contentious policy move by the board. Democrats on Monday sued in a bid to block the board's September 20 decision to require a hand count of ballots.

Republican Brad Raffensperger, who as Secretary of State is Georgia's top election official, has said that the board's "11th-hour" changes would undermine voter confidence and burden election workers.

The board's majority has said the various new rules are intended to make the election more secure and transparent. Trump, seeking a return to the presidency, has praised his three allies on the board as "pit bulls."

The national and state Democratic parties sued the Georgia election board on August 26, seeking to invalidate the August rules and declare that the state's election results must be certified by November 12, a week after Election Day.

"These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the post-election process," the Democrats wrote in their August 26 petition opening the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the election board said the new rules do not permit election administrators to delay certification, dismissing as speculative the Democratic concerns that investigations by the panel may cause delays.

Democrats argued in a filing that the new rules would "invite chaos" by giving county-level officials licence to hunt for alleged fraud and potentially delay certification. They said certification of election results is mandatory under state law, and that other avenues exist to contest disputed results.