Hey John, it’s been an intense few weeks for CREW (we should have updates on that soon), but I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like they could use some good news.

And this good news came just in time: the Georgia Supreme Court just decided unanimously that a slate of problematic new election rules will remain on hold and will NOT go into effect during this election cycle.

The court is still considering whether the State Election Board overstepped its authority by imposing those cumbersome and disruptive rules, but in the meantime it is not allowing these rules to create chaos around this election.

The worst of these rules required hand-counting of the number of Election Day ballots cast at voting machines, and required that three poll officers at each polling place all reach the same exact number matching the machine count, which would have increased the risk of delaying certification.

But the decision also blocks other rules that CREW has strenuously advocated against, including the rule granting county election board members the authority to conduct open-ended inquiries before certifying election results and giving partisan election officials access to election-related documentation that could have nothing to do with certification, opening up the possibility that they could leak information to bad actors or even demand access to individual ballots.

John, it’s a huge relief that these rules were blocked.

These rules were blatantly illegal and would only have increased chaos and distrust of the election. It’s a big win for our democratic process that they have been decisively blocked.

I also wanted to pass along some other good news on the accountability front that just came through yesterday:

• A judge ruled that Rudy Giuliani must give control of his luxury items and Manhattan apartment to the Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 election.
• A federal appeals court upheld Couy Griffin's trespassing charge for his actions during the January 6th insurrection (you may remember Couy Griffin from our decisive win two years ago when we had him immediately removed and disqualified from public office for violating the 14th Amendment).

These court decisions are all wins for accountability. They show that in court, the facts and the law prevail—despite the threats against our democratic institutions.

I hope these updates bring you some hope as we head into what will surely be a busy and stressful few weeks.

Thank you,

Arielle Linsky Stogner
Senior Vice President
CREW

PS. If you can support CREW’s work fighting to protect election certification and to demand accountability from those who violate public trust, we would be very grateful for a recurring donation, as we continue this work over the long haul.