Harris campaign sues to block Georgia rule changes critics say could cause certification ‘chaos’

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is joining Georgia Democrats’ efforts against the Republican-controlled Georgia state election board after it implemented a series of changes to give local officials more powers, which Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said would cause “11th-hour chaos” due to concerns about delays in certification.

The Democratic Party of Georgia, the Democratic National Committee and the Harris-Walz campaign are asking a state court to intervene, alleging the state election board created an “uncertain legal regime” due to the changes.

“Indeed, county officials across Georgia have already sought to block or delay certification after recent elections, and the amended rules give them new tools to try again,” the petitioners wrote in their suit.

The petitioners are asking the court to make election certification mandatory by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12, “absent a valid judicial order to the contrary,” to ensure certification isn’t delayed by what they call rogue officials. It also asks the court to clearly state that it is the venue for resolving election disputes and not local election boards.

The Republican-controlled election board passed a rule earlier this month authorizing local boards to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certification.

Advocates of the rule change say it will bring more transparency to the election process; but critics say because there is not a clear definition of “reasonable inquiry,” local officials could make their own interpretation that could potentially postpone or prevent results from being certified due to challenges — especially as former President Donald Trump continues to push unfounded claims of potential election fraud in the upcoming election.

Then, in its most recent meeting, the board passed a rule requiring investigations into ballot discrepancies before county certification, instructing local election board members to “compare the total number of ballots cast to the total number of unique voter ID numbers” in each precinct.

Should there be a discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the number of unique voters, local board members are now in charge of investigating them. While the investigation is ongoing, “no votes shall be counted from that precinct” until the results are presented to the board.

“For months, MAGA Republicans in Georgia and across the country have been trying to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results when they lose again in November,” said Quentin Fulks, Harris-Walz principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks in a statement about the lawsuit. “But Democrats are prepared, and we will stop them. Certifying an election is not a choice, it’s the law. A few unelected extremists can’t just decide not to count your vote.”

The Georgia Republican Party defended the board’s changes and slammed state Democrats’ actions, calling their rhetoric “dangerous.”

“In no way, do these rule changes interfere with anyone’s right to vote or cause undue burdens on election workers, but these steps will ensure transparency, accountability, accurate reporting and reconciliation, and preservation of the right for both parties to observe the processing of ballots,” Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon wrote in a statement.

Other Republicans in the state have also raised concerns about the new election changes. Raffensperger has been attempting to quell concerns about the rule change, doubling down on Georgia’s certification deadline.

“Georgia’s Election Integrity Act requires counties to certify the election results by November 12th and we fully anticipate that counties will follow the law,” Raffensperger posted on X.

At the same time, he has also advocated against the last-minute changes by arguing about the strength of Georgia’s election integrity laws, which were passed after the 2020 election.

“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Raffensperger said.

“The General Assembly knew that quick reporting of results and certification is paramount to voter confidence and passed S.B. 202, but misguided attempts by the State Election Board will delay election results and undermine chain of custody safeguards. Georgia voters reject this 11th hour chaos, and so should the unelected members of the State Election Board,” he said.

The three Republican board members — Janelle King, Rick Jeffares and Janice Johnston — have been pivotal in securing the election changes as they comprise a majority voting bloc on the five-person board. At his most recent rally in Atlanta, Trump called the three members “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

The former president has zeroed in on Georgia’s election process after narrowly losing the state to President Joe Biden in 2020.

It was a loss that Trump attempted to overturn by pressuring Republican officials, such as Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, to persuade the state legislature to overturn the state’s results.

Those actions were the center of a sweeping racketeering indictment in Fulton County, which charged Trump and 18 others for the alleged plot to subvert the will of Georgia voters.

Three defendants in that case, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall, took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify in the case.

Last month, however, the Georgia Court of Appeals halted the criminal case pending resolution of an appeal of a disqualification ruling that allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to stay on the case.