ATLANTA — In a critical victory for Georgia voters, the Georgia Supreme Court today upheld a lower court’s decision permanently blocking a rule that would have required hand counting of ballots at polling places before tabulation — a process widely criticized for risking delays, ballot spoliation, and voter disenfranchisement.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Georgia, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law intervened in the case last fall to protect the integrity of Georgia elections.
The ruling confirms that the State Election Board exceeded its legal authority by attempting to rewrite election procedures just weeks before a major election without legislative approval and in direct contradiction of Georgia law.
"This rule would have opened the door to confusion, delays, and potential voter disenfranchisement,” said Gerald A. Griggs, president of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP. “Georgians deserve to have their votes counted — not for their election officials to make last-minute changes and undermine the will of voters. The Court's ruling is a clear message that voter suppression has no place in our elections.”
“This is a resounding affirmation of voters’ rights,” said Theresa Lee, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. “The court recognized what we’ve argued all along — that this rule was unlawful and entirely unnecessary. Today’s decision safeguards not just the letter of Georgia election law, but the democratic principle that every vote must be counted accurately and without interference.”
“The court’s decision to block the hand counting requirement is a crucial win for voting rights, especially for voters in marginalized communities,” said Helen Butler, executive director, Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda. “In under-resourced precincts, where long lines already discourage participation, the rule would have created chaos at the polls and risked silencing thousands of voices. Today's ruling on hand counting protects access, accuracy, and dignity in our elections. However, while we are pleased about the win, we are disappointed in the court’s ruling on standing in its opinion today. We will continue our work to support Georgia's voters and their fundamental right to vote.”
“We are encouraged that the Court stopped the State Election Board's attempt to rewrite the election code on the eve of the 2024 election and are glad that the harmful Hand Count Rule cannot go into effect. Yet we are disappointed in the Court's decision that our clients did not have standing to bring this claim. The ACLU of Georgia and our clients will continue to fight in the halls of power for the right of every Georgia voter to cast their ballot and have it counted,” said Caitlin May, voting rights staff attorney at the ACLU of Georgia.
“The Court’s decision today to block the State Election Board’s ill-conceived Hand Count rule was a victory for Georgia’s voters and goes a long way in helping to ensure that the State Election Board does not overstep its authority in future rule-making that could disenfranchise eligible voters,” said Julie Houk, Managing Counsel for Election Protection at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Lawyers’ Committee and our clients will continue our work to ensure that Georgia’s Black voters and other voters of color, as well as all eligible Georgia voters, are able to cast their ballots, that they will be counted, and that their fundamental right to vote is not undermined by unauthorized actions taken by members of the State Election Board in the future.”
The case, Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc. v. Georgia, challenged a series of last-minute rules passed by the Georgia State Election Board, including one that would have required the hand counting of ballots before securing them for tabulation — a burdensome and error-prone process with no grounding in Georgia’s election code.
The ruling allows elections in Georgia to proceed under long-established, secure procedures, reinforcing voter confidence and administrative stability ahead of future elections.
A copy of the Georgia Supreme Court’s ruling can be found here.