Democrats sue to block Georgia rules they warn could delay certifying election results
Lawsuit says changes by Republican-dominated board invite post-election chaos
The state and national Democratic parties sued Monday to block two recent rules adopted by Georgia's State Election Board that could be used by county officials who want to refuse to certify an election, potentially causing delays in finalizing the state's results.
The lawsuit, filed before a state judge in Atlanta, argues the rules violate a state law that makes certification a mandatory duty.
The new rules were enacted after a trio of Republican partisans aligned with former president Donald Trump took control of the five-member regulatory board earlier this year. The Republican Party chair in Georgia praised the takeover of the board and later emailed proposed rule changes to board members, leading Democrats to allege that a body that had a formal nonpartisan role is now a direct tool of Trump.
A Democratic state senator and the former chair of the Fulton County elections board have both sent letters demanding that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp remove the three Trump-aligned members for violating state ethics laws.
The lawsuit, meanwhile, says the rules invite post-election chaos, and the board is defying state law and more than a century of court precedent in Georgia.
"According to their drafters, these rules rest on the assumption that certification of election results by a county board is discretionary and subject to free-ranging inquiry that may delay certification or foreclose it entirely. But that is not the law in Georgia," states the lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court.
'Reasonable inquiry' debated
The board has no direct role in determining election results, but hears complaints about alleged violations and writes rules to ensure that elections run smoothly.
But its actions play out in the crucial swing state of Georgia, which has had years of partisan battles over voting procedures.
Trump faces prosecution in a sprawling racketeering case into his efforts to prevent Joe Biden's electoral win in Georgia in 2020, though efforts by his legal team have managed to delay the case from heading to trial before the election. Trump was recorded in a January 2021 phone call asking a top state official to "find" votes that could see him overtake Biden in the totals.
Those racketeering charges also target a handful of people over an incident where Trump loyalists were able to access election machines in Coffee County, at the invitation of local Republican officials there.
The Democratic lawsuit specifically cites language added by one rule to require county election officials to conduct a "reasonable inquiry" before certifying results. It also takes aim at a second rule that allows county election officials "to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections."
The first rule does not define "reasonable inquiry" and the second "has no basis in the election code or case law," the suit argues. Alleged fraud or misconduct should be handled by the courts, not by county officials as they tally results, the plaintiffs argue.
Pro-Trump Republicans argue the rules just reinforce a county election board's existing duty to thoroughly examine election results, noting each board member must swear an oath to compile "true and perfect" results.
"These common-sense changes will benefit all Georgians, regardless of political affiliation as they are all designed to increase transparency and public confidence regarding our elections," state Republican Party chair Josh McKoon said in a statement Monday.
Trump praises new board members at rally
In Georgia, state officials had to order rural Coffee County to certify in 2020. In May Republican-appointed Fulton County election board member Julie Adams refused to certify primary election results after she filed a lawsuit backed by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute that argues county election board members have the discretion to reject certification.
Counties that refused to certify in November would undoubtedly face lawsuits asking judges to order county boards to perform their legal duties. And it's unlikely Fulton County or any of the state's five other most populous counties, all reliably Democratic, would reject certification. Instead, refusals to certify would likely come from smaller, more Republican counties.
At the national level, Georgia congress member Lucy McBath on Monday expressed concern about "creating barriers to counting votes and certifying the election so Donald Trump can once again attempt to throw our country into chaos."
Trump praised the three news members by name during an Aug. 3 rally in Atlanta saying the three "are all pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory," but criticized the Democrat on the board and the nonpartisan chair appointed by Kemp, saying they "aren't so good."
In May, the Georgia House announced the most recent change to the board with the appointment of Janelle King, a media personality who co-founded a conservative political action committee.
In January, Kemp appointed Waffle House executive John Fervier to chair the board, and the Georgia Senate approved the nomination of former Republican state Sen. Rick Jeffares. Dr. Janice Johnston holds a spot on the board that's appointed by the Republican party, and Sara Tindall Ghazal is the Democratic Party appointee.
With files from CBC News