Georgia Supreme Court will not consider reinstating new election laws

(The Center Square) – The Georgia Supreme Court voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny the Republican National Committee’s appeal to reinstate seven new election laws.

The laws, recently passed by the State Election Board, were first blocked by Judge Robert McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County last week.

McBurney said the last-minute changes would lead to “administrative chaos.”

The Republican National Committee then appealed McBurney’s decision to the state’s Supreme Court in an attempt to reinstate the laws before Election Day. In a one-page ruling, the court denied the appeal.

McBurney’s decision and the subsequent Supreme Court decision blocked new requirements from the State Election Board which would have allowed for “reasonable inquiry” before elections are certified, hand counts on Election Night and additional access for partisan poll watchers.

While the Republican-majority board says the election measures it passed would help ensure election integrity, Democrats said it would have hindered voting.

The Georgia Supreme Court is the court of last resort for legal cases in the state and, though considered nonpartisan, eight of the nine justices were appointed by Republican governors.

This is the latest chapter in what has been a contentious election season.

Georgia, with its 16 electoral votes, is one of seven consensus battleground states. Presidential candidate stumping has been frequent. There are no state level executive offices on the ballot, nor U.S. Senate seats, and all 14 congressional seats are forecast to remain with current parties in a 9-5 edge to the Grand Old Party.

The state has had record levels of voting since early voting first began last week.

So far, nearly 2 million Georgia voters have already voted in the 2024 election. That is a 27.5% turnout rate in the state, which has just over 7 million registered voters according to an Election Data Hub from the secretary of state’s office.

Republican politicians in the state were quick to react to the court’s decision.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that the Georgia Supreme Court refused to hear an emergency appeal to potentially overturn a Fulton County judge’s ruling before Election Day – yet another case driven by Democrat lawfare,” said Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on social media. “The reforms introduced by the Georgia Election Board are widely popular with voters across the board because they safeguard the integrity of our elections in a nonpartisan way.”

According to a survey conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, nearly 3 in 10 likely voters in Georgia are not confident the election will be conducted fairly.