Latest news with #StateElectionBoard
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Supreme Court of Georgia overturned four rules from the State Election Board
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Supreme Court of Georgia overturned four rules from the State Election Board. Those measures were approved just before the presidential elections last year. So, what does this mean for local voting? When the SEB passed seven new election rules, they faced a legal challenge. The Fulton County Superior Court ruled them unlawful. The Supreme Court has now ruled that four of the seven rules are invalid. 'The State Elections Board had passed some rules. There was a lawsuit. So, they adjoined the rules, and they appealed it, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision,' said Travis Doss, Executive Director for the Richmond County Board of Elections. The rules that are now invalid are the reasonable inquiry rule, the hand count rule, the drop box ID rule, and the examination rule. The only rule that was upheld out of the seven is video surveillance of absentee drop boxes outside of voting hours. The other two rules, regarding poll watchers and daily reporting, have been sent back to the trial court. 'Now, there were two rules that the Supreme Court said were fine. One has to do with video surveillance of droboxes, and another one had to do with posting results to the website. We've been posting results to the website already,' said Doss. Richmond County Board of Elections Director Travis Doss says this will not change anything for voters because the rules were never implemented. 'I'm currently president of the association of voter registration and election officials. And we had kind of fought against these rules. Only because they were too close to the election. So, the court did adjoin them so they couldn't be used,' said Doss. Doss says he is happy to finally have closure. 'The good thing about the decision for the Supreme Court. It kind of gives a definitive answer. We were sort of in limbo after the rules were passed in November after there was the lawsuit,' said Doss. The primary for the Public Service Commission is currently underway in Richmond County, with early voting taking place until this Friday and Election Day on Tuesday, June 17th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Supreme Court rejects changes sought by Trump-aligned board ahead of 2024 election
Members of Georgia's State Election Board sit during a Sept. 23 meeting at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder (file photo) The Georgia Supreme Court has permanently blocked four rules the State Election Board approved last fall, concluding Tuesday that members of the board exceeded their authority in attempting to implement rules that went beyond the scope of Georgia's election laws. A total of seven rules were approved by the Republican-led board ahead of the 2024 general election, with supporters claiming that the changes were necessary to ensure accuracy and restore public confidence in Georgia's election integrity. If enacted, the rules would have ordered poll workers to hand count all ballots cast on election day, made it easier for local election officials to delay certifying election results and required family members and caregivers to present a photo ID when dropping off absentee ballots on behalf of another voter, among other changes. Election officials and voting rights groups opposed the rules, arguing that last-minute changes could sow confusion and doubt into the election process, and that implementing the new rules would violate Georgia's election laws. Last October, the Georgia Republican Party and Republican National Committee filed an emergency motion urging the state Supreme Court to reinstate the rules ahead of the general election, but the court declined to expedite their appeal. In a 96-page opinion, Chief Justice Nels Peterson upheld most of the Fulton County Superior Court's ruling, declaring that the State Election Board 'can pass rules to implement and enforce the Election Code, but it cannot go beyond, change, or contradict' existing Georgia law. The October ruling from Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. argued that the seven rules were 'illegal, unconstitutional and void,' and that the State Election Board had exceeded its authority by passing them. However, in a slight reversal of the lower court ruling, the state Supreme Court allowed a rule mandating video surveillance of ballot drop boxes to take effect, finding that the rule was consistent with current election laws. Two other rules that would have expanded mandatory poll-watching areas and required election workers to publicly post daily totals of early and absentee voters were sent back to the Fulton County Superior Court for further consideration. The State Election Board is tasked with writing rules to ensure that elections run smoothly and hearing complaints about alleged violations. The three most conservative members of the Republican-led board — Janice Johnston, former state Sen. Rick Jeffares and Janelle King — made national headlines last fall after approving seven election rules in spite of Attorney General Chris Carr's warnings that the changes likely would not stand up in court. Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump also praised King, Jeffares and Johnston during a campaign rally in Atlanta for supporting changes to election certification rules, calling them 'pit bulls' for 'victory.' State Election Board Chairman John Fervier did not respond to a request for comment on the Supreme Court's ruling. The ACLU of Georgia, which helped represent the plaintiffs, applauded Tuesday's ruling. 'This is a resounding affirmation of voters' rights,' said Theresa Lee, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. 'The court recognized what we've argued all along — that this rule was unlawful and entirely unnecessary. Today's decision safeguards not just the letter of Georgia election law, but the democratic principle that every vote must be counted accurately and without interference.' Eternal Vigilance Action, a conservative election advocacy organization that sued the State Election Board over the rule changes, also celebrated the ruling. 'This ruling makes clear: the legislative power belongs to the General Assembly, not executive agencies operating without proper constraints,' Eternal Vigilance Action founder and former Republican state Rep. Scot Turner said in a statement. As new election laws passed in 2024 begin to take effect, including a ban on the use of QR codes to tabulate ballots, the board will likely continue to draft rules to guide local election officials tasked with implementing the changes. However, this year the board is workshopping changes to the rulemaking process in the hopes of avoiding a repeat of the chaos that defined the 2024 election cycle. During a May meeting, state election board members discussed the possibility of forming a rules committee with election directors, legislators, Georgia residents, and election law attorneys. Rules would be vetted by the committee before being presented to the full board. Senior reporter Stanley Dunlap contributed to this report. s25a0362 SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
10-06-2025
- Politics
Georgia Supreme Court overturns some election rules, curbing State Election Board's power
ATLANTA -- Georgia's highest court on Tuesday overturned four rules passed by the State Election Board just before last year's general election, ruling the board overstepped its authority and intruded on lawmaking power reserved for legislators under the state constitution. The state Supreme Court's unanimous decision limits the future rulemaking ability of the State Election Board and other executive branch agencies of Georgia's government. The board passed a slate of new rules in August and September that mostly had to do with processes after ballots are cast, spawning a flurry of lawsuits. President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state in 2020 and alleged without evidence that election fraud had cost him victory. Three Trump-endorsed Republicans hold the majority on the five-person State Election Board. The new rules brought an outcry that the board's majority was trying to improperly use its power to help Trump. The board members claimed the changes were needed to improve the accuracy of results. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox ruled in October that seven of the rules were 'illegal, unconstitutional and void,' but the board appealed. Trump beat Democratic former Vice President Kamala Harris in November to win Georgia. In its decision, the state Supreme Court invalidated the requirements that ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls, that someone delivering an absentee ballot in person provide a signature and photo ID, that county election board members be allowed to conduct a 'reasonable inquiry' before certifying results and that county election board members be granted broad access to election-related documents. The court let stand a rule requiring video surveillance and recording of ballot drop boxes after polls close during early voting. It told a lower court to decide whether Chatham County Board of Elections member James Hall has the right to challenge two other rules, which expand designated areas where partisan poll watchers can stand at tabulation centers and require daily public updates of the number of votes cast during early voting. As part of its decision, the court overturned a 1990 decision that widened the rulemaking power of state agencies. Chief Justice Nels Peterson wrote that the decision was a mistake because it doesn't 'provide clear, objective guidelines that cabin an executive branch agency's exercise of discretion.' The reversal parallels the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning last year of a doctrine that said courts had to defer to how administrative agencies interpreted laws in writing rules. What was called the Chevron doctrine gave federal agencies the authority to make rules for implementing laws passed by Congress that were unclear. Scot Turner, a former state representative and one of the people who challenged the rules, said the court's decision will rein in 'unelected bureaucrats.' 'This ruling makes clear: the legislative power belongs to the General Assembly, not executive branch agencies operating without proper constraints,' Turner said in a statement. The court ruled that the State Election Board had asserted 'the type of unfettered discretion that we have now reiterated is constitutionally intolerable.' That analysis applied to the rule allowing county board members to conduct 'reasonable inquiry' into whether results are valid, which the court said could delay finalizing votes and contradicted state law that says counties 'shall' certify results. The court also ruled that election board members could only examine documents when there were discrepancies in the number of voters or ballots. The court ruled that the rule requiring poll officials to hand-count the total number of ballots — not individual votes — contradicted state law. That's because it allowed the hand-count to take place after Election Day, while state law requires ballots to be tabulated 'as soon as' polls close. A rule requiring people to provide a signature and photo ID when delivering an absentee ballot was invalid, the court ruled, because it 'invents new requirements' not found in law.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia Supreme Court partially invalidates state election rules
The Brief Georgia Supreme Court strikes down four state election rules, citing overreach by the State Election Board. Court rules organizational plaintiffs lack standing; individual voters Turner and Hall can challenge. Chief Justice highlights nondelegation doctrine to prevent legislative power transfer to agencies. ATLANTA - In a significant ruling, the Georgia Supreme Court has invalidated four of seven state election rules approved by the State Election Board before the November 2024 general election. Additionally, it found that two of the remaining rules could not be considered during the appeal. PREVIOUS STORY: Georgia Supreme Court considering if judge was right to block State Election Board rules The three-person Republican majority on the State Election Board, which was praised by then-former President Donald Trump during a rally in Atlanta in August, voted to adopt multiple rules in August and September 2024 over the objections of the board's lone Democrat and the nonpartisan chair. What we know The decision, which partially affirms, reverses, and vacates a previous ruling by the Fulton County Superior Court, sends the case back to the trial court for further review. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox had ruled in mid-October that 7 of the rules were "illegal, unconstitutional and void." The rules in question included requirements for county election boards to conduct "reasonable inquiries" before certifying election results, hand-counting ballots, daily reporting of vote totals, expanded access for poll watchers, photo ID requirements for absentee ballot drop-offs, and video surveillance of drop boxes. The Court found that only the video surveillance rule was valid, while the others exceeded the State Election Board's authority. The underlying lawsuit, brought by Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc. and individuals Scot Turner and James Hall, argued that the 7 rules contradicted the state Election Code. RELATED STORY: Georgia election battle: Parties clash in court over controversial voting rules The State, along with the Republican National Committee, appealed, questioning the plaintiffs' legal standing. The court heard oral arguments in Cartersville on March 19. The Court concluded that organizational plaintiffs (Eternal Vigilance and Georgia State Conference of the NAACP) lacked standing, but individual voters Turner and Hall did have standing. What they're saying Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson, in a unanimous opinion, emphasized the importance of the nondelegation doctrine, which prevents the transfer of legislative power to administrative agencies. The Court's decision underscores the need for clear statutory authority in rule-making and highlights the ongoing debate over election integrity and governance in Georgia. Click to open this PDF in a new window.
Washington Post
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Georgia Supreme Court overturns some election rules, curbing State Election Board's power
ATLANTA — Georgia's highest court on Tuesday overturned four rules passed by the State Election Board just before last year's general election, ruling the board overstepped its authority and intruded on lawmaking power reserved for legislators under the state constitution. The state Supreme Court's unanimous decision limits the future rulemaking ability of the State Election Board and other executive branch agencies of Georgia's government.
