Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign is joining Georgia Democrats' efforts against the Republican-controlled Georgia state election board after it implemented a series of changes to grant local officials more authority, which Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said would cause "11th-hour chaos" due to concerns about delays in certification.

The Democratic Party of Georgia, the Democratic National Committee and the Harris-Walz campaign are petitioning a state court to intervene, alleging the state election board created an "uncertain legal framework" due to the changes.

"Indeed, county officials throughout Georgia have already attempted to hinder or postpone certification following recent elections, and the revised regulations provide them with new methods to potentially repeat such actions," the petitioners asserted in their lawsuit.

The petitioners are requesting the court to enforce a deadline of 5 p.m. on November 12th for election certification, unless a valid court order dictates otherwise. This is intended to prevent delays caused by what they term "rogue officials." They also seek a clear statement from the court confirming its role as the primary authority for resolving election disputes, rather than local election boards.

The Republican-controlled election board adopted a rule earlier this month empowering local boards to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" before certification.

Supporters of the rule change argue it will enhance transparency in the election process; however, critics contend that because there is no clear definition of "reasonable inquiry," local officials could interpret it in their own way, potentially delaying or preventing results from being certified due to challenges -- especially as former President Donald Trump continues to advance unfounded claims of potential election fraud in the upcoming election.

Then, in its most recent meeting, the board enacted a rule requiring investigations into ballot discrepancies before county certification, instructing local election board members to "compare the total number of ballots cast to the total number of unique voter ID numbers" in each precinct.

Should a discrepancy arise between the number of ballots cast and the number of unique voters, local board members are now responsible for investigating them. While the investigation is ongoing, "no votes shall be counted from that precinct" until the results are presented to the board.

"For months, MAGA Republicans in Georgia and nationwide have been attempting to establish a framework to dispute the election results when they fall short again in November," said Quentin Fulks, Harris-Walz principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks in a statement regarding the lawsuit. "However, Democrats are prepared, and we will stop them. Certifying an election is not optional, it's a legal requirement. A few unelected individuals cannot simply decide not to count your vote."

The Georgia Republican Party defended the board's alterations and criticized state Democrats' actions, describing their rhetoric as "dangerous."

"In no way, do these rule modifications hinder anyone's right to vote or impose undue burdens on election officials, but these measures will ensure transparency, accountability, accurate reporting and reconciliation, and safeguarding of the right for both parties to observe the processing of ballots," Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon stated.

Other Republican representatives in the state have also expressed concerns regarding the new election modifications. Raffensperger has been attempting to allay concerns about the rule change, emphasizing Georgia's certification deadline.

"Georgia's Election Integrity Act mandates counties to confirm the election results by November 12th, and we fully expect counties to comply with the law," Raffensperger shared on X.

Simultaneously, he has also spoken out against the last-minute alterations by arguing for the strength of Georgia's election integrity laws, which were implemented after the 2020 election.

"Activists attempting to impose last-minute changes to election procedures outside of the legislative process erode voter confidence and place an unnecessary burden on election workers," Raffensperger said.

"The General Assembly understood the importance of timely reporting of results and certification in maintaining voter confidence and passed S.B. 202, but misguided actions by the State Election Board will delay election results and compromise chain of custody procedures. Georgia voters oppose this last-minute disruption, and so should the non-elected members of the State Election Board."

The three Republican board members -- Janelle King, Rick Jeffares and Janice Johnston -- have played a key role in pushing through these election changes as they hold the majority voting power on the five-person board. At his most recent rally in Atlanta, Trump praised the three members as "pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory."

The former president has focused his attention on Georgia's election process after narrowly losing the state to President Joe Biden in 2020.

It was a loss that Trump attempted to overturn by pressuring Republican officials, such as Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, to convince the state legislature to overturn the state’s results.

These actions were the core of a comprehensive racketeering indictment in Fulton County, which accused Trump and 18 others of a scheme to overturn the wishes of Georgia voters.

Three defendants in that case, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall, accepted plea bargains in exchange for agreeing to provide testimony in the case.

Last month, however, the Georgia Court of Appeals put the criminal case on hold while waiting for the outcome of an appeal regarding a disqualification ruling that allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to continue her involvement.