A judge in Georgia's Fulton County Superior Court ruled late Monday that members of the election board are obligated to certify election results even if there were irregularities, crimes or systemic errors.
But Julie Adams of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, who filed the lawsuit against the county, hailed the ruling as a victory. She and her lawyers say she has now been granted full access to election procedures and materials that were previously denied her.
“We believe that access to the entire election process will allow all board members to know and have confidence in the true and accurate results by the time they are certified,” Adams said in a statement published by the America First Policy Institute. said in a statement. The attorney worked on the case in conjunction with a local attorney.
Judge Robert McBurney's 11-page ruling was released as he focuses on the Peach State, where polls show former President Donald Trump with a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris. . Early voting begins in Georgia on Tuesday and will run until Nov. 1, four days before Election Day.
In 2020, Trump lost to Joe Biden in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes, or about a quarter of a percent, and worked hard to reverse the result. As a result, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed controversial criminal charges against the former president.
McBurney ruled that Adams “must certify” the results within a week of voting. “There are certain things that election officials have to do in a certain way or by a certain time, and they don't have any other discretion, and certification is one of them,” he said.
So if Adams or other officials are concerned about fraud or miscounting of ballots, that's a problem for prosecutors, the judge said.
“While the Superintendent must investigate concerns regarding miscounts and report any unresolved concerns to the prosecutor after investigation, the existence of such concerns, doubts, or apprehensions may delay or deny certification. There's no reason to do that.”
Adams claims authorities have failed to provide her with “many” of the documents requested by the certification deadline, rendering her “unable to fulfill her oath of office” and certifying the results of Georgia's March presidential primary. voted against.
This argument was not accepted by legal scholars.
“[T]There are no limitations to this study (aside from, of course, the immovable deadlines for accreditation discussed below). Therefore, in a mandatory service mission, you have to prove it! — There are discretionary subtasks. “The freedom granted in subtasks does not transform an overarching fixed duty into a discretionary role,” McBurney said in a footnote.
Adams' complaint is one of several lawsuits challenging Georgia's election rules and practices.
McBurney will hear a lawsuit Tuesday in which Cobb County seeks to invalidate new rules enacted by the State Board of Elections, including one that requires hand counting of ballots to be completed on election night. is being carried out.
