The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 12, 2025
We’re following up on a story from last summer when Georgia’s state elections board voted to allow county election board members to conduct their own investigations before certifying an election, potentially throwing elections into chaos. The state supreme court threw out that and other fringe rules on June 10th.
The Georgia Elections Board approved partisan, conspiracy theory-driven rules just 90 days before the 2024 election, including allowing individual members of county election boards to conduct their own “reasonable inquiry” before certifying an election. Another rule approved in September required a hand count of paper ballots into stacks of 50 to compare with the machine count total.
Pro-voter groups challenged the rules, and last October, a district court judge ruled they were enacted too close to the election, and too disruptive. The Republican National Committee and the Georgia GOP appealed for an emergency order, which was declined until after the election.
In a victory for voters, the Georgia Supreme Court found June 10th that most of the elections board’s new rules were not enabled by state statute. The court allowed surveillance cameras at drop boxes, but struck down most others, including “reasonable inquiry” investigations, post-election document examination, hand counting, and IDs for family members dropping off mail ballots.
We have the 96-page order at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
American Democracy Minute – Ninety Days Before the Election Georgia Launches ‘Voter Registration Cancellation Portal’ and Changes Rules on Certifying Elections
American Democracy Minute – Republicans Appeal to Georgia Supreme Court to Restore Fringe Georgia Election Board Rulings Struck Down by Lower Courts
Georgia Recorder – Georgia Supreme Court rejects changes sought by Trump-aligned board ahead of 2024 election
Georgia Supreme Court via Democracy Docket – Opinion on 2024 Georgia Elections Board rules
Groups Taking Action:
ACLU Georgia, Georgia Conference of the NAACP, Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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