The judge persists in impeding Team Trump's progress in Georgia.
Georgia, where early voting is currently underway, has seen a judge strike down additional voting rules enacted by the Republican party. Judge Thomas Cox declared these rules unconstitutional, ruling that they went beyond or contradicted specific provisions of the election law, making them illegal and ineffective. The contested rules were seen as unnecessary security measures by the Republicans, but Democrats argued that they hindered the certification of results.
These new rules, which were implemented by the Republican-dominated election commission in September, sparked concerns that election officials could delay or even refuse to certify results after the election, utilizing their considerable powers. The judge has now ordered the removal of these new rules from use and informed poll workers about their invalidity. The election commission has the right to appeal this ruling.
The day prior, Trump allies in Georgia suffered two more court losses. One of these defeats included the overturning of a contentious rule that required presidential election ballots to be counted manually instead of by machine. Early voting in the state, which began on Tuesday with record turnout, is crucial as Georgia is one of several closely contested swing states that could determine the outcome of the presidential race between Democrat Harris and Republican Trump. Despite losing the 2020 election in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump continued to make unfounded claims of election fraud. Later, it was revealed that he had pressured the Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to help him "find" the approximately 12,000 votes needed to win.
The Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, was pressured by Trump to alter vote counts, an action that contradicts the Republicans' stance on election integrity. Despite losing the election in Georgia, Trump and his allies have consistently made unsubstantiated claims of fraud against Democrats, causing public uncertainty about the election process.
