Republican National Committee v. Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc; Georgia v. Eternal Vigilance Action
Georgia Supreme Court ruled invalid under state nondelegation principles four of seven rules passed by the Georgia State Election board — requiring hand counting of ballots, requiring county election boards to make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying results, permitting those board members to “examine all election-related documentation” prior to certifying, and requiring identification for people dropping off others’ absentee ballots. A rule requiring video surveillance of drop boxes outside of voting hours was upheld. Because those five rules implicate the right to cast a ballot or have it counted, the court said the individual voter plaintiffs had standing to challenge them. The court did not decide the validity of the two remaining rules — that the total number of votes be reported and made public daily and that poll watchers have expanded access to vote tabulation areas — finding they did not implicate the voter plaintiffs’ rights and remanding whether a county board member had standing to the trial court for further consideration. The voting rights group plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge any rule, the court said.
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