Fulton County Judge STRIKES DOWN New Georgia Election Integrity Rules As Unconstitutional

Recently, Georgia’s State Election Board made a series of seven election laws designed to prevent what happened in 2020 and ensure election integrity.

These rules included hand counting ballots, signature matching, and video surveillance at ballot drop boxes. Another new rule would allow local election board to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying.

Yet, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox just struck them all down, declaring the new election integrity rules “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox struck down seven new election rules on Wednesday, The Superior Court of Fulton County has effectively nullified crucial voting rules established by Georgia’s State Election Board (SEB) with its recent ruling.

We have another one… pic.twitter.com/AEmYeOcMyg

— Colonel Otis (@canfixstoopid) October 17, 2024

Take a look at the ruling:

NEW: A Georgia judge has declared that seven election rule changes recently adopted by the State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.”

“The SEB had no authority to implement these rules,” Judge Thomas Cox wrote. pic.twitter.com/fUs7o28ky8

— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) October 16, 2024

This includes the controversial rule change that would allow local election boards to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” prior to certifying their county’s election results.

Judge Cox wrote that the rule is “inconsistent with” Georgia statutory law and thus void and unenforceable. pic.twitter.com/o6OfCYSLoI

— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) October 16, 2024

Here are the all seven election integrity laws that this Fulton County judge just blocked, from The Gateway Pundit:

1. Certification of Election Returns

One key issue arises with SEB Rule 183-1-12-.02(c.2), which requires superintendents to “attest, after reasonable inquiry” that election tabulations are accurate before certifying results.

2. Documentation Access Prior to Certification

While the Election Code dictates specific methods for handling election-related documents, SEB Rule 183-1-12-.12 grants individual county board members expanded access to documents prior to certification.

3. Absentee Ballot Delivery Protocol

SEB Rule 183-1-14-.02(18) mandates the presentation of a signature and photo ID when absentee ballots are delivered.

4. Surveillance of Drop Boxes

SEB Rule 183-1-14-.02(19) introduces a video surveillance requirement for drop boxes after polling closes, along with potential removal if conditions are unmet.

5. Poll Watching Area Expansion

This rule increases mandatory poll-watching zones to include additional ballot processing areas.

6. Reporting Requirements for Absentee Ballots

This rule imposes extra requirements on county boards for reporting absentee ballot information, including weekend reporting and partisan breakdowns.

7. Ballot Hand-Counting Requirement

The SEB rule mandates hand-counting of ballots post-polling.

AP has more details on the ruling:

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.

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Cox found that the rules are “unsupported by Georgia’s Election Code and are in fact contrary to the Election Code.” He also wrote that the State Election Board did not have authority to pass them. 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.

The Associated Press has reached out to the lawyers for the State Election Board, as well as the three Republican members who had supported the rules, seeking comment on the judge’s ruling. They could appeal but time is running short with less than three weeks to go until Election Day.

Democrats are celebrating the judge’s decision?

Why?

Maybe cecause it means they’re free to do this again in Georgia this year…

This is what happened in Georgia in 2020, now you know why a judge won’t uphold basic election integrity rules.. pic.twitter.com/vCGXmpw2Xw

— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) October 17, 2024