Early in-person voting kicks off in Georgia on Tuesday as uncertainty over new election rules looms large in a state that will decide this year’s presidential election.
Early in-person voting kicked off in Georgia on Tuesday — a day after a Georgia judge ruled that county election officials may not delay or decline to certify election results over allegations of fraud or error in the battleground state.
Judge Robert McBurney ruled on Monday night that certification of election results by county officials in the state is “mandatory” — a new ruling that is likely to be heralded by election experts amidst rising fears that rouge election officials could seek to delay or decline to certify results after Election Day amid allegations of fraud or error.
Georgia counties will provide early in-person voting for at least 16 days, with some counties offering an extra voting day on Sunday. Nov. 1.
The commencement of Georgia’s three-week period for early voting comes as the Georgia state election board recently passed sweeping new changes to the state’s election system, including how votes are tabulated.
Over the summer, the Republican-controlled State Election Board passed a rule requiring all ballots to be hand counted on election night, prompting legal challenges and pushback from both major parties as officials warned about potential delays in reporting results.
Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, told the board it was operating outside of its authority, and warned that the rule changes were likely not lawful. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign joined a lawsuit from Georgia Democrats suing to block the last-minute rule changes.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. scheduled hearings this week to hear about the lawsuits challenging the new rules, including the hand-counting provision and new rules that expand access to poll watchers.
Another prominent Republican in the state, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, also promised that while Georgia law mandates certification on Nov. 12, he raised concerns about potential false claims that could arise as potential reporting delays linger.
