As ballot counting is underway for the Georgia runoff election, a judge in Fulton County on Tuesday night handed a small victory to Republicans by solidifying an agreement that affords poll observers better access to view the counting of absentee ballots. The agreement, known as a consent agreement, was made between Fulton County election officials, the county’s Republican Party, a non-partisan organization the National Defense Committee, and Sean Kilbane, a Republican observer. It was made after the Republicans and the National Defense Committee sued (pdf) county officials over allegations that the county had failed its transparency obligations under election law to allow observers to view the counting and signature verification process as well as the process for duplicating absentee ballots. They alleged that their observers were barred from observing the absentee ballot process “concealing work behind secrecy cubicles and by keeping the monitors outside the unlawful perimeter fence more than 20 ft. …