Civil and voting rights groups have filed a “friend of the court” brief in a lawsuit challenging two rules changes the State Election Board’s Republican majority adopted in recent weeks.

The ACLU of Georgia, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law argue the changes threaten to upend Georgia’s longstanding mandatory election certification rules and disenfranchise Georgia voters.

The three Republicans on the five-member board approved rules changes allowing local election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results if they suspect election fraud as well as “examine all election-related documentation created during the conduct of elections prior to certification of results.”

The lawsuit, filed late last month by the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia, maintains state law requires local election officials to certify election results..

“Democracy is not strengthened by putting certification and the right to vote at risk,” said Poy Winichakul, senior staff attorney for democracy and voting rights with the Southern Poverty Law Center. “These regulations could confuse and delay the final certification of election results – all of which are direct threats to the voting rights of Georgians.”

“County election boards have a clear duty under Georgia law to faithfully report and timely certify their election returns,” added Sophia Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “The State Election Board’s last-minute rules changes inject uncertainty and confusion into certification and threaten the fundamental right to vote.”

The lawsuit contends Republicans could use the new rules so close to the November elections to cast doubt on Georgia’s election results, potentially setting the stage for former President Donald Trump to be declared the winner of the Peach State’s 16 electoral votes, even if Vice President Kamala Harris has won more votes.

Georgia Republican Chairman Josh McKoon has called the changes “common-sense rules” aimed at promoting election integrity.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.