New York Times: How a Far-Right Takeover of Georgia’s Election Board Could Swing the Election

John,

Over the past few years, there’s been an effort in states across the country to throw elections into chaos by refusing to certify the results. Georgia just took this another step too far—and it puts our democracy at stake.

Over the last few months, the Georgia State Election Board has been pushing through rules cementing election lies into policy.

One of the rules they passed allows election officials in Georgia’s 159 counties to arbitrarily refuse to certify election results. Another rule would allow county board members to examine “all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections prior to certification of results.”

John, this plainly exceeds the State Election Board’s rulemaking authority and would invite abuse and could impose unreasonable burdens on Georgia election workers in the hectic six-day period between election day and certification.

Election deniers are laying the groundwork to delay certification, and we won’t stand by as they fight to undermine our democracy. CREW is going to take action to ensure we keep our elections safe and secure. If you can get behind our work, then please make a donation to CREW today →

Let’s make one thing very clear: the Georgia State Election Board does not have the rulemaking authority it needs to legally move forward with these plans.

The broad language of the rule is plainly in violation of the law and would not withstand judicial review.

Georgia law does not vest power in individual members of county election boards and no Georgia statute grants even full county boards unconditional access to election documents!

The proposed rule would invite disruption and abuse of county canvassing and certification too, especially since it provides no safeguards against document requests designed to delay or obstruct the lawful certification process and does not limit access to documents containing sensitive personal information.

One member of the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, Julie Adams, has already burdened elections staff with demands for documents, refused to certify elections and provided no credible explanation as to why the extensive documents provided to her were insufficient.

During an election year where the concerns of election subversion are already high, Georgia’s State Election Board should be looking to enact measures that bolster confidence in our elections, not ones that risk burdening election workers and legitimizing efforts to sabotage the certification process.

That’s why CREW is doing everything in *our* power to safeguard our elections. If you’d like to support our work, please make a donation to CREW today →

Thank you,

CREW HQ