Harris campaign celebrates defeat of new ballot security rules in Georgia

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is celebrating after the Georgia Supreme Court rejected Republicans' effort to reinstate a new slate of ballot security rules before Election Day.

"Donald Trump and his MAGA ‘pit bulls’ in Georgia have tried to create chaos in our elections and sow doubt in the result, but again and again, Democrats have stood strong to protect the votes of all Georgians," a joint statement from Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Charles Lutvak, DNC rapid response director Alex Floyd, and Georgia Democrats communications director Dave Hoffman said on Tuesday night.

The "pit bulls" remark was in reference to the three members of Georgia's State Elections Board (SEB) who passed the rules change in a 3-2 vote last month. Former President Trump praised all three by name during a rally in Georgia in August, calling them "pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory."

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The Democrats' statement to Fox News Digital continued, "After more than 1 million Georgians have already voted, today’s ruling means millions more will be able to do so knowing that Trump won’t be able to interfere with the election results when he loses again."

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

The statement came hours after the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Republican National Committee's (RNC) request for an expedited appeal of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox's decision calling the SEB's new measures "illegal, unconstitutional, and void."

The appeal is expected to move forward on a regular timeline, but it would ensure the new SEB rules do not take effect until after Election Day.

Among the most controversial rules were a requirement for ballots at each precinct to be hand counted by three separate county officials to ensure the total matched 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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Democrats wrote in an amicus brief ahead of the state high court ruling Tuesday, "The Hand Count Rule would have disrupted election administration across Georgia and brought further disorder on November 5 and beyond — imposing concrete and irreparable harm without any countervailing benefit, given Georgia’s established rigorous ballot counting and tabulating procedures."

The SEB measures struck down by Cox also included heightened ID 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.

Supporters of the rules, which included state and county Republican Party officials, said they were necessary guardrails to ensure voter confidence in this year's elections.

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But Democrats argued they were intended to sow chaos and doubt throughout the election process.

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Republican opponents of the rules, which include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and multiple county officials, said they would be unworkable to implement this close to an election and would fuel delays.

Meanwhile, nearly 2 million Georgia voters have already cast their pre-Election Day ballots – more than one in four people. 

President Biden won Georgia by less than 1% in 2020, making it a critical battleground for both parties.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.