Georgia's top court will not fast-track appeal of US ballot hand-count rule

23/10/2024 6:23

        Georgia's highest court on Tuesday declined to fast-track an appeal of a decision blocking Republican-backed changes to the battleground state's election
        rules, making them unlikely to go into effect for the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
        
        Georgia Supreme Court justices unanimously denied an emergency motion to pause an order blocking the rules and expedite its review of the case, a docket entry showed. A lawyer involved in the case said that means it will not be decided until next year.
        
        The half-dozen rules, passed by the board in a 3-2 vote, empower county election board members to investigate discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and voters in each precinct, and examine troves of election-related documents before certifying their results.
        
        The board was powered by three allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who lost to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia in the 2020 election and made false claims of widespread voting fraud. Some senior Republicans continue to refuse to say that Biden was fairly elected in 2020.