GEORGIA – Yesterday, the Georgia Supreme Court denied a motion for an expedited appeal and refused to reinstate the rule changes that the Georgia Election Board established over the summer. As a result of the Court’s unanimous opinion, the plaintiffs in that case will need to wait until after the November election to proceed with their case. 

In response to the court denials, Jay Young, senior director of Voting and Democracy for  Common Cause shared the following:

“We’ve said this before and we will say it again—these unnecessary rule changes were solutions to election problems that don’t exist.

“We’re glad to see that the Georgia Supreme Court refused to reinstate these rule changes just weeks before Election Day, and after the Early Voting period had started. Had the Court acted differently, it would have likely caused confusion, chaos, and unnecessary expense for the state of Georgia.

“These rule changes would have added delays on election night, as workers at each polling place struggled to implement a new and unfamiliar poll-closing process. These changes added new burdens on election officials and poll workers, and counties would have been required to pay for the additional time they work.

“Creating a new possibility for confusion and delay on election night is not in the best interest of Georgia’s voters.”

A copy of the court’s denial can be found here. 

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