By Jack Queen
(Reuters) -The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit on Monday to block Georgia’s election council from imposing a manual counting of ballots in the Nov. 5 election, saying it could delay reporting of results and sow chaos .
The rule change, which was approved on a 3-2 vote by allies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, requires poll workers to hand over ballots to ensure they match the totals counted by machines.
The DNC said in a petition filed in Fulton County District Court that the change would lead to “significant delays” in reporting vote totals and “wreak havoc” in the election.
“This rule is nothing more than a blatant attempt by Donald Trump and his MAGA lackeys at the Georgia State Election Board to sow doubt about our elections and undermine the outcome,” DNC Director Monica Guardiola said in a statement.
A representative for the Georgia Election Board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the second that Democrats have filed against the board in recent weeks.
In August, the DNC filed a lawsuit to block rule changes that would give local election officials in Georgia the authority to examine results before they are certified.
Democrats say these changes are also intended to cause delays and sow uncertainty about the results.
A trial in this case will begin in Atlanta on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Berkrot)
