State and national Democrats are celebrating along with the Harris-Walz campaign after a Georgia judge temporarily blocked a rule on hand-counting ballots.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Tuesday on the measure which was set to go into effect on Oct. 22, deciding against allowing the rule which would require the hand-counting of ballots by three county elections officials at each polling place.

“From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome, and our democracy is stronger thanks to this decision to block it,” Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said in a joint statement that included Georgia Democratic Party Chair Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA), DNC acting Co-Executive Director Monica Guardiola, and Harris-Walz Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks.

(Video Credit: WTHR)

“We will continue fighting to ensure that voters can cast their ballot knowing it will count,” the statement read, according to Fox News.

The ballot-counting rule was passed by the State Elections Board (SEB) in a 3-2 vote, sparking backlash from critics.

GEORGIA JUDGE BLOCKS HAND COUNTING BALLOT RULE

A Georgia judge has temporarily blocked a rule requiring clerks to hand count the total number of ballots, calling it “too much, too late” for the 2024 election.

This decision impacts how ballots will be handled in the… pic.twitter.com/wbhcRTPLXW

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 16, 2024

While Judge McBurney’s decision blocked the rule from going into effect, he noted the issue was not with the intent of the measure but of changes being made to the process so close to Election Day.

“No training has been administered (let alone developed), no protocols for handling write-in ballots … have been issued, and no allowances have been made in any county’s election budget for additional personnel and other expenses required to implement the Hand Count Rule,” McBurney wrote in his order. “The administrative chaos that will – not may – ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections (and the SEB) to ensure that our elections are fair, legal, and orderly.”

“This election season is fraught; memories of January 6 have not faded away, regardless of one’s view of that date’s fame or infamy. Anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public,” he added.

While “on paper” the rule lined up with SEB’s goal of ensuring fair and legal elections, McBurney wrote that any new rule “that allows for our paper ballots – the only tangible proof of who voted for whom – to be handled multiple times by multiple people following an exhausting Election Day all before they are securely transported to the official tabulation center does not contribute to lessening the tension or boosting the confidence of the public for this election.”

Republican board member Janelle King said she was “deeply disappointed for the people of Georgia.”

“However, sometimes the victory lies in the public knowing that the State Election Board is paying close attention to our election process,” King said in a statement.

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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