Democrats Sue Georgia Election Board Over New Rules That Could Delay Vote Certification

Democrats sued Georgia’s State Election Board on Monday, asking a judge to block new rules the party claims could cause “chaos” and allow local officials to potentially delay or even stop the certification of votes in November.

The suit — filed by the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Democratic National Committee, with backing from Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign — comes after the election board voted to shift its rules regarding the certification process. In a 3-2 vote, the body gave local election officials the power to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying any results. A separate rule will also allow those officials to “examine all election related documentation created” during a race.

The rule changes do not define what “reasonable inquiry” means.

“At minimum, these novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the post-election process and … invite chaos by establishing new processes at odds with existing statutory duties,” the suit says.

“If these requirements are interpreted as the drafters assert,” the suit goes on, “county boards or other superintendents could (unlawfully) delay certifying an election in order to complete a ‘reasonable inquiry,’ or could even (unlawfully) purport to exercise discretion regarding whether to certify at all.”

The lawsuit has asked a state judge to invalidate the new rules, saying the election board has exceeded its authority. The parties argued that any claims of fraud or misconduct should be handled by the courts, not local officials.

The chair of the Georgia Democratic Party also pointed to former President Donald Trump’s praise for the three members of the election board who voted for the new rules.

“The three members Donald Trump