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A Georgia judge ruled this week that state law does not give county officials discretion to withhold certification of election results, a defeat for allies of former president Donald Trump who sought to empower local leaders to hold up the outcome of the vote.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Monday that certification of election results is a mandatory duty irrespective of any concerns that a county election board may have about the accuracy of the count. Such concerns are the domain of prosecutors and state election officials, he ruled, and local boards are expected to relay any evidence of irregularity to their local district attorney.
The ruling sends a signal to county election officials across the state who have hesitated to certify results. It also has the potential to affect several rules approved this year by a pro-Trump majority on the State Election Board, including one that permits county boards to investigate irregularities and that critics fear could allow them to delay results.
The decision adds to a body of judicial precedent that Democrats hope will close off any attempt by Republicans to inject chaos into the post-election environment by keeping the election results from being finalized. Experts have identified that possibility as something that Trump allies could attempt in multiple states, in addition to Georgia.
Nothing in state law allows county election leaders “to declare fraud (or, more importantly, determine the consequences for it, if it in fact occurs),” McBurney wrote. “The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of State, the many District Attorneys, and the Attorney General are all better equipped and clearly authorized to undertake the work of verifying election fraud and seeking consequences for it.”
McBurney’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed this year by Julie Adams, a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections who had refused to join her colleagues as they certified two primaries. Adams claimed in the suit that she was denied her right to examine a long list of election records for signs of fraud or other issues. She also argued that there would be no point to certification if local officials were not permitted to flag irregularities.
But nothing in state statutes gives boards leeway in their obligation to certify and “do so by a time certain,” McBurney wrote. “There are no exceptions.”
Adams, however, claimed a victory with the ruling, which affirmed her right to ask for documents that allow her to examine the security of elections.
“Having access to the entire election process will allow every board member to know and have confidence in the true and accurate results before the time for certification,” Adams said in a written statement.
Voting rights advocates and Democrats — including Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign — also claimed a victory.
“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans don’t get to decide who wins elections — voters do,” the Harris campaign said in a statement. “The experts were clear that the 2020 election was free, fair, and secure, and Democrats are making sure that 2024 is the same.”