In order to empower county election boards to request additional information, including the power to undertake inquiries, prior to certifying election results, the State Election Board of Georgia recently approved a new rule in advance of the November election.
Even though there is just one Democrat sitting on the board, Sara Tindall Ghazal, was worried about the rule change coming 91 days before the presidential election. A number of Georgia Democrats, including Ghazal, have voiced concerns that the new regulation could give county election boards more time to decide whether or not to certify the results of the following general election.
We all depend on the Georgia State Election Board’s actions today to ensure fair, accurate, and secure election results, but their actions undermine those time-tested checks and balances. Voting Rights Lab Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Sam Tarazi stated that Georgia currently has thorough procedures to validate, tally, and examine each ballot – and audit those outcomes – before certification.
According to Tarazi, the regulation could cause “unknowable delays in future elections at the behest of a single individual.” It also goes against the established system of checks and balances for Georgia’s elections, which have existed for decades.
With a 3-2 vote, the rule was approved, with board chairman John Fervier going against party lines to vote with Ghazal in opposition. Earlier this year, Republican Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia named Fervier to the position of chairman of the board.
At Tuesday’s public meeting, which drew a large audience, the board also approved a move to enable more observers to witness the tabulation process in each of Georgia’s 159 counties. The decision was 3-1 along party lines. Additionally, it voted unanimously against a fresh attempt to address potential vulnerabilities by introducing new regulations for paper ballots that are hand-marked in time for the November election.
Protests and cheers from Trump supporters characterized the session, which ultimately resulted in a vote in favor of the rule changes.
The Republican presidential candidate, Trump, rallied on Saturday to show his support for the three underappreciated Republicans on the five-person board. Democrats are once again worried that the state election board, which is majority Republican, is injecting partisanship into politics due to the name-check.
Dr. Janice Johnston was one of the individuals Trump singled out, and the audience went wild when he acknowledged her board work.
When Johnston expressed her belief that the board “should be able to see every single document in the election” during Tuesday’s meeting, she was greeted with enthusiastic applause from some attendees.
Even though she voted in favor of the rule, Republican Janelle King contended that county board members shouldn’t have to sign anything to certify results and should have the option to study documentation if they have any unanswered questions.
According to King’s interview with AWN, which was conducted before the meeting, the board is considering rule modifications in good faith in the lead-up to the general election.
“All voters are being protected,” King told AWN. As far as I am concerned, I am acting morally. I am grateful for the president’s backing, but please don’t think that I am representing anyone.
The people who are concerned about any meddling by the Trump campaign, she claimed, are being ridiculous.
Just claiming credit and mentioning our name won’t cut it. King explained that Trump’s mention at the rally simply meant that they were doing a good job in his opinion.
Democratic minority whip in the state legislature, Sam Park, has spoken out against the board, accusing it of interfering with the certification of election results through political means.
The attorney Park from the Atlanta region stated that “these certification rules directly conflict with Georgia law,” which specifies that local election board officials are required to fulfill their tasks and cannot be considered to have choice over them.
Brad Raffensperger, the current secretary of state of Georgia and a former board chairman during the 2020 election, characterized the panel as “a mess” before the meeting. His spokesperson declined to provide any further comments.
In response to Raffensperger’s remarks, King stated, “He’s a mess.”
The Georgia State Board of Elections was warned in a letter sent on Tuesday by two former Republican secretaries of state, who said that “Recent last-minute rule/law changes and nontransparent tactics, like those introduced in Georgia, are unhelpful and may lead to additional public distrust of elections.”
According to Ghazal, who spoke with AWN, “public confidence in the election” is her main worry. She expressed her fear that the atmosphere that could be generated by considering rule changes before November could cast a doubtful shadow over Georgia’s election, which would be difficult to dispel.