A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that said the State Election Board violated state law when it approved new rules at a hastily called meeting in July, but he left the door open for the suit to be refiled.
Three Republican members of the board met to approve two election rules at the meeting despite warnings from the attorney general’s office that it might not comply with the law. One rule allows more partisan poll monitors to observe ballot counting, while the other requires counties to post daily ballot tallies on their websites.
The left-leaning group American Oversight filed a lawsuit that sought to nullify the rules and fine the three election board members. The board members said they did nothing wrong. But the board voted again to approve the rules at a subsequent meeting.
On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox dismissed the lawsuit. Though American Oversight sued the board and its members, the judge found the lawsuit should have named the state of Georgia as the defendant.
It’s unclear whether American Oversight will refile the lawsuit with the state as the defendant.
