Georgia election board passes controversial rule

If this sounds like the approach Project 2025 takes to the federal civil service, it is because it is the same. By driving out honest workers and replacing them with Trump loyalists, Republicans seek specific outcomes regardless of the merits. https://t.co/Z2l2MLHtd3

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) August 7, 2024

The Georgia State Election Board passed a new rule on Tuesday that gives county election boards more power to demand information before certifying election results. The rule change has raised concerns among some board members and election officials. The rule passed with a 3-2 vote. It allows county boards to conduct inquiries if they have questions about the vote tallies before certifying the results. However, the term “reasonable inquiry” is not clearly defined in the rule. There are also no strict limits on how far these inquiries can go.

New from me.👇

The vote to adopt this new rule was 3-2, with the Trump-endorsed members commanding the majority. It seems that Trump was prescient when he said these three members would fight for his “victory.”https://t.co/Z2l2MLGVnv

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) August 7, 2024

Sara Tindall Ghazal, the only Democrat on the board, voted against the rule.

“State board of elections passes measure proposed by Fulton board appointee who refused to certify presidential primary“

[New Georgia rules let local boards withhold election certification] https://t.co/ntwccvkav0

— Norio Nakatsuji (@norionakatsuji) August 6, 2024

She worries it could delay the certification of results in the upcoming November election if county boards use their new powers. “The actions by the Georgia State Election Board today threaten Georgia’s time-tested checks and balances that we all rely on for fair, accurate, and secure election results,” said Sam Tarazi, co-founder of Voting Rights Lab. He added that the rule could lead to “unknowable delays in future elections at the behest of a single individual.” Board Chairman John Fervier, a Republican appointed by Governor Brian Kemp, also voted against the rule change.

Georgia election board power increase

However, the three other Republican board members voted in favor of it. At a rally on Saturday, former President Donald Trump praised the three Republican board members who supported the rule. He called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.” Trump lost Georgia by a narrow margin in the 2020 election but made unproven claims of voter fraud. The board also voted 3-2 on Wednesday to ask the state attorney general to reopen an investigation into Fulton County’s handling of the 2020 election. That inquiry had previously been closed in May. Critics argue the new rule could enable officials to refuse to certify election results if they “don’t like the results.” They say it makes certification dependent on a board member’s opinion of whether the results are accurate. “All of this is really unprecedented,” said Andrea Young, director of ACLU Georgia. “We’ve never seen this kind of activity in the State Board of Elections.” However, Republican board members have defended the rule change. Dr. Janice Johnston said that if elections are “conducted fairly and legally and accurately, most of the time, they are certified.” The new rule will go into effect in 20 days but could face legal challenges in court. The Georgia ACLU is considering filing a lawsuit against the rule change. With the November election less than three months away, the impact of these changes remains to be seen.