GOP official appeals order certifying election results

FILE – Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney looks over paperwork Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File).

A Republican official in Fulton County, Georgia, is appealing a court order directing her and other officials to certify the election results in a timely manner, whether or not they have concerns about it.

Earlier this month, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued a highly anticipated ruling.

In the 11-page final order, the judge noted that county election officials play a “mandatory” role in the certification of votes and that “no election official (or member of an election and registration board) may refuse to certify or abstain from voting” under any circumstances “To refrain from confirming election results under certain circumstances.”

The ruling was a direct setback for Fulton County Board of Elections member Julie Adams — who filed a lawsuit seeking clarity about her role on the board. The declaratory judgment, on the other hand, was welcomed by Democrats and voting rights advocates who feared that allies of former President Donald Trump could wreak havoc on the tally of ballots by refusing to do their job quickly.

However, McBurney said unequivocally that these tasks must be completed – and that they must be completed “no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the date of the election.”

On Wednesday, Adams directly objected to the lower court’s order in a notice of appeal filed with the Georgia Court of Appeals.

In the appeal, the GOP official specifically expressed her disagreement with the portion of McBurney’s order that says she must “vote to certify the election results in a timely manner,” according to a copy of the filing obtained by The Associated Press .

In her original lawsuit, Adams outlined the idea of a powerful county election official — a person charged with tools to stamp out potential fraud or abuse at his or her discretion. She asked the court to declare her duties to be “discretionary and not ministerial in nature.” To live up to that vision, Adams said, she should be able to delay the certification of votes she suspects are somehow improper.

McBurney rejected this idea outright.

“The commissioner is not at liberty to ignore the mail-in ballots, even if she can count them at will – again at discretion as part of a ministerial task.” And if a superintendent should discover something in the course of his recruitment, counting and investigation that is his If he believes there is fraud or systemic error, he must still count all votes – despite the perceived fraud – and report his concerns about fraud or error. to the responsible district attorney.’ … [T]The supervisor must present the certificate and do so by a certain date. There are no exceptions. While the superintendent must investigate concerns about miscounts and report those concerns to a prosecutor if they persist after the investigation, the existence of those concerns, doubts and fears is not a reason to delay or deny certification.”

More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Rejected’: Georgia Supreme Court unanimously rejects GOP effort to revive controversial election rules passed by Trump allies

A detailed footnote offers another way to combat fraud:

This does not leave the superintendent (or board member) without recourse or means to raise substantive concerns about an election outcome. The electoral law has a proven mechanism to combat suspected fraud and abuse: electoral competitions. Election campaigns arise according to the ministerial certification act. They can be introduced by a losing candidate or by any aggrieved constituent (voter) – including a superintendent (assuming he voted). It is important that election campaigns take place in open court under the watchful eyes of a judge and the public. One side’s allegations of fraud are tested by the opposing side in this public court – rather than being quietly “decided” by a superintendent outside of the public sphere, resulting in votes being excluded from the final count without affording those voters due process becomes.

The court’s argumentative admission of possible fraud appears to have become another point of contention for Adams.

In her appeal, she expressed displeasure at the idea that suspected fraud could simply be reported to authorities or become the subject of a lawsuit. Instead, Adams complained that it would be “inappropriate and inadequate” for her to rely on such processes “when making determinations of fraud and abuse.”

At this stage, the Court of Appeal has not indicated whether it will hear the case in time for the upcoming general election.

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topicnews · October 25, 2024

GOP official appeals order certifying election results

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