Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday against the Georgia Election Board, arguing new rules it adopted—which make it more likely that county election boards in the battleground state could refuse to certify election results—could cause “chaos” in November, as pushback escalates against the changes.
Former President Donald Trump arrives on stage during a campaign rally at the Georgia State ... [+]
Georgia’s GOP-controlled election board voted 3-2 in August in favor of a new rule, which specifies county election officials should certify results “after reasonable inquiry” that the vote count and election results are “complete and accurate.
It also approved a new rule allowing county election board members to “examine all election related documentation” before they vote to certify results, without specifying which documents it’s referring to.
The rules upend the election process by suggesting certification is not mandatory, but rather based on there being no issues or discrepancies: Georgia law states that county officials “shall” certify the results after making sure the vote count from all the precincts was added up correctly, and it’s only after the results are certified that candidates can request recounts or bring lawsuits to challenge fraudulent practice or voting irregularities.
The GOP board members approved the rules after former President Trump falsely claimed there was voter fraud in the 2020 election and pressured Georgia officials to change the results, which has led to a number of local election boards refusing to certify vote counts—until ordered to do so by a court—because of purported election irregularities.
Local board members, voters and the Georgia Democratic Party sued the state election board over the new rules on Monday, arguing they conflict with state laws requiring boards to certify the results and “invite chaos” by raising the possibility that voters could be disenfranchised if their counties don’t certify election results in time.
The lawsuit is part of a broader pushback against the state election board, including from some Republicans, with GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger calling the board “a mess” in July and saying in an August statement, “Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers.”
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
The Democrats’ lawsuit asks a state court to declare that the new rules “do not grant election superintendents discretion to delay certification of election results or not to certify at all.” The court must require officials to certify results by the November 12 deadline—or else block the new rules altogether, Democrats said. Some Georgia state leaders have asked Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to take action against the state board members over the controversy, including investigating them or removing them from office. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday Kemp has asked the attorney general’s office for legal guidance on whether he could remove board members from the state board, though it’s unclear if he would.
Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King, whom Trump praised as “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory” at a recent Georgia rally, voted for the election changes. Johnston is a retired obstetrician who previously served as a poll worker, the Journal Constitution reports, while Jeffares is a former state senator and King served as deputy state director for the Georgia Republican Party. All three have suggested there were issues with the 2020 election: Jeffares has shared posts suggesting there were issues with the election and said he still has “no idea” if the results were legitimate, while Johnston challenged Fulton County’s vote count and King tweeted in November 2020, “I've spoken with a number of people about this vote counting process and I have questions!!” The board members are indicative of a broader nationwide trend of people who denied the 2020 election results now holding positions of power. States United Democracy Center found more than 200 state lawmakers contested the 2020 results and approximately 70 now hold positions with county election boards. The other two members of the Georgia state board are Sara Tindall Ghazal, a Democrat whom the party appointed after she led its voting initiatives, and John Fervier, a Waffle House executive whom Kemp appointed earlier this year.
Certifying election results means that an election official, whether at the local or state level, acknowledges that the process of tabulating votes is complete, locking in the results. Legal challenges can still be filed after the vote count is certified, and the results can be certified again if needed—as Georgia did in 2020, after Trump requested a recount of the results. Certifying election results is a necessary administrative step in the election process, and before Trump and his allies politicized the process and stoked fears of voter fraud, it was typically viewed as being uncontroversial and routine. Georgia law states officials must count and canvass all the votes that came in for that county, making sure that everything has been counted accurately. Officials should then certify the votes “regardless of any fraudulent or erroneous returns presented to him or her”—meaning mistakes or fraud with the ballots themselves, rather than errors in counting the ballots—and should just report issues to the local district attorney, rather than try to investigate anything themselves.
Democrats alleged in their lawsuit the new rules could upend the election by making it possible that county officials won’t certify their results by their November 12 deadline. Once local results are certified, they’re sent to the state, and Raffensperger then has to certify the statewide total. If any county results are in doubt, Democrats warn the secretary of state could have to certify the state’s results without those votes being included, meaning officials could disenfranchise the voters in their county by refusing to certify results. Raffensperger will have to submit Georgia’s certified results at least six days before the Electoral College meets, which this year will be December 11, before the electors meet on December 17, so any results that haven’t been certified by then couldn’t be included. Having to leave out even a small number of voters could have an impact in Georgia, a battleground state where the election results are likely to be close. President Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020 in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes.
The state election board previously rejected one of the rules it passed in May before approving it in August, after a Republican who opposed the rule was pressured to resign. But legal experts cited in ProPublica warned the rule that got approved is more expansive than the one that got rejected. The board added language allowing boards to determine a method for computing votes if they find evidence of fraud—raising fears among legal experts that county officials could use that as a justification to change vote counts if they believe there were any fraudulent ballots.
Georgia 2024: All about the State Election Board and the new rules it has passed (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Georgia lawmaker files complaint, asks for investigation into state election board members (Atlanta News First)
Georgia election directors call for a pause in creating new rules (Atlanta Journal Constitution)