Georgia judge suspends new hand-count ballot rule

Georgia's Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who issued the ruling against the hand-count (Image credit: Megan Varner / Getty Images)

What happened

A Georgia judge on Tuesday halted a new rule from the State Election Board requiring three poll workers in every precinct to hand-count every ballot cast on Election Day. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said the rule, passed Sept. 20 by three Donald Trump–aligned members of the five-person board, was "too much, too late," and would remain blocked until he had a chance to weigh its merits.

Who said what

The election board clearly "believes that the hand count rule is smart election policy — and it may be right," McBurney said in his ruling. "But the timing of its passage make implementation now quite wrong," with no time to guide, train or hire sufficient poll workers. The inevitable "administrative chaos" and uncertainty "disserves the public," he said. Early voting began yesterday in the key swing state, and more than 328,000 Georgians cast their ballots, topping 2020's first-day voting record of 136,000 ballots, officials said.

McBurney blocked another one of the board's nine new rules late Monday, clarifying that county election officials have no authority to block election certification. State law says county supervisors "shall" certify election results within a week, he noted, and any concerns about the vote can be passed up to prosecutors or state election officials.

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The State Election Board's "job is to clarify law, not create new law," board chair John Fervier told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, criticizing his three fellow Republicans in the Trump-aligned bloc. "This board needs to stay within its boundaries." The hand-count rule would delay results, fueling mistrust in the election, he said.

What next?

McBurney does not have "the final say on the hand-count rule," the Journal-Constitution said. "His ruling will likely be appealed during the three weeks before Election Day." Five other rules recently passed by the State Election Board also face legal challenges.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.