Georgia Supreme Court denies emergency appeal for GOP-backed ballot rules struck down by judge

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The Georgia Supreme Court has denied the Republican Party's request to immediately reinstate new ballot rules passed by the State Election Board (SEB) last month. 

The Peach State’s highest court said it will hear the Republican National Committee’s (RNC's) request for an expedited appeal late last week after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox, Jr. ruled the measures were "illegal, unconstitutional, and void."

The one-page decision by the state Supreme Court released on Tuesday afternoon indicates that ruling will remain in place through Election Day. It was unanimously backed by all judges on the court.

Cox's decision covered a requirement for ballots at each precinct to be hand counted by three separate county officials to ensure the total matches the machine-tabulated number, as well as a provision directing county boards to certify election results only after "a reasonable inquiry" into their accuracy, among others.

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Georgia is weighing new elections' measures as early voting is underway. (Getty Images)

Plaintiffs in the case included civil rights groups like the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and Eternal Vigilance, as well as a current and a former state official.

The state Supreme Court noted it "lacks jurisdiction over this motion" but said it would take the case due to the "issues of gravity and public importance" it presents. The RNC and its allies, including the Georgia state GOP, requested an emergency expedition of the appeals process.

It comes as Election Day approaches in exactly two weeks, though Georgia has already shattered early voting records just seven days after the process began last Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1 in 4 Georgia voters had cast ballots.

The SEB voted to pass the rules in a 3-2 decision on Sept. 20, with three Republican-appointed members voting for the change and one against.

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The Georgia Supreme Court said it would hear the appeal. (Supreme Court of Georgia)

In addition to the two aforementioned rules, the SEB measures struck down by Cox included an ID requirement and heightened documentation requirements for people delivering absentee ballots to drop boxes, and a rule requiring video surveillance of drop boxes for votes cast there to be counted.

The plaintiffs in the case argued the SEB did not have the authority to make such rules.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented the plaintiffs in the case, said the measures were "injecting chaos into the democratic system in the immediate run-up to the November election."

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"Early voting has begun and over 1 million Georgians have already cast their ballots. Judge Cox's ruling prevented a rule change in the middle of the game," the ACLU said in response to the Republicans’ appeal.

Even if the court were to have ruled in the RNC's favor, however, the hand-count ballot rule would still have been blocked due to a separate Fulton County Superior Court ruling temporarily delaying its implementation. Another earlier ruling mandated that the elections must be certified by a certain date, regardless of county officials' inquiries.

Democrats had accused the GOP officials of trying to sow doubt and chaos in the election process with the new rules.

The Georgia Supreme Court denied the RNC's emergency appeal in a one-page, unanimous decision (Supreme Court of Georgia)

Republican skeptics, including State Secretary Brad Raffensperger, have argued their implementation is unworkable this close to the election.

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However, party officials like Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon argued the rules are necessary guardrails to ensuring election security.

"If his decision were upheld, it would severely curtail the ability of the state elections board to regulate our elections and to do the job," McKoon said.

Fox News Digital reached out to both the Harris and Trump campaigns for a response to the Georgia Supreme Court decision.