The Georgia Supreme Court ruled against the Republican-controlled State Election Board on Tuesday, saying that it didn't have the authority to usher in anti-voting restrictions last year.
The state’s highest court upheld a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked several rules passed by the board. Among the contreversial rules passed included one that required hand-counting of ballots. Another had voters provide a signature and ID at ballot boxes.
Democracy Docket reported that "the General Assembly did not make the seven rules that are challenged in this case; instead, an agency vested with only executive power— the State Election Board—did."
The board "passed" 10 new voting rules with fewer than 50 days before the general election in 2024.
Organizations fought the rules in court last year, and a Fulton County superior court judge blocked seven of the 10.
Chief Justice Nels Peterson wrote, “The SEB can pass rules to implement and enforce the election code, but it cannot go beyond, change or contradict (the law)."
The national Republican Party appealed it to the high court.