Georgia board to review Fulton election with possible takeover

Georgia’s state electoral council on Wednesday stepped towards a possible takeover of elections in the state’s most populous county in a process outlined in the country’s sweeping new election law. State which, according to critics, could open the elections to political interference.

The board of directors voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a three-person bipartisan review panel to investigate Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta. The county has long been the butt of the wrath of Republican lawmakers. Their attacks only escalated after former President Trump and his allies baselessly claimed fraud in the county contributed to its small loss in the state. An independent auditor found no evidence of fraud or irregularity.

GOP lawmakers last month asked the State Council to appoint the Performance Review Committee to investigate Fulton’s handling of the elections, initiating the process that could allow the Republican-controlled State Council to replace the county registration and election board by an administrator of his choice.

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Fulton County represents about 11% of the state’s electorate, and President Biden won nearly 73% of the vote cast in the November election. The county has about 45.5% white, 44.5% black, and about 7.6% people of Asian descent, according to U.S. census data.

The state council-approved review committee includes: Stephen Day, a Democrat appointed to the Gwinnett County Electoral Council; Ricky Kittle, a Republican appointed to the Catoosa County Electoral Board; and Ryan Germany, General Counsel in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Before voting to endorse the review committee, Sara Tindall Ghazal, the only Democrat on the state council, noted that the council was required by law to appoint a committee after responding to lawmakers’ request. She also said she expects the board to come under “enormous political pressure from both sides.”

“The narrative behind this pressure was swayed by misinformation surrounding the November 2020 election, but the fact remains that voters in Fulton County have reported many issues for much longer than in November. 2020, especially regarding registration and postal ballots, ”Ghazal said. “I urge Fulton County to consider this performance review board as an opportunity to take a fresh look at their systems and procedures and identify areas for improvement.”

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With a Democrat from the Atlanta area and a Republican from a more rural part of the state, as well as an attorney from the Secretary of State’s office, the review committee was “carefully balanced to reflect all interests so that the accusations we have heard in the press that this is just Republican ax work against Fulton County is not reflected by this list of candidates, ”said Matt Mashburn, Member Republican from the State Election Commission.

Mashburn said it would be nice if the report produced by the panel not only identifies the problems, but also reflects the solutions that have already been identified or implemented.

“I encourage Fulton to keep trying to improve and not just put up his hand and say it’s all in the hands of the board now,” he said.

Republican lawmakers who called for the review said they wanted to make sure county election officials were following the state’s voting laws and regulations. Democrats and voting rights activists have said the new takeover provision could allow political interference in local elections.

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Critics of the new takeover provision in state law said early on that it would be used to target Fulton County. Fulton County Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts said efforts to take over the county’s election were driven by false allegations of fraud pushed by Trump and his supporters.

“While I understand that the state electoral commission had no choice in this matter, it is still scandalous to see the big lie and the demands of conspiracy theorists continue to advance,” Pitts said on Wednesday after the announcement. appointment of the review board. “It is the result of a cynical ploy to undermine faith in our electoral process and democracy itself – it is shameful partisan politics at its worst.”

Under the new law, lawmakers who represent a particular county can request a review of local election officials. The review board should be made up of “three competent persons”, including an employee of the electoral division of the secretary of state’s office and two “local election officials”.

The review board is responsible for issuing a report after conducting a thorough investigation into the competence in the maintenance and operation of electoral materials, the administration of registration and elections, as well as compliance with the law. of State.

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The investigation must be followed by a preliminary hearing within 90 days of receipt of the initial request. During this hearing, the State Election Commission must decide whether the case should be discontinued or whether it should proceed to a full hearing.

The state council could suspend the county council if it finds that county officials have violated the law or state electoral rules three times since 2018 and failed to correct the violations. He could also dismiss the county council if he finds that in at least two elections over two years the council has shown “inaction, malfeasance or gross negligence”.

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The State Election Council, currently with a 3-1 Republican majority, would appoint a temporary administrator to run the Fulton County election if it finds any wrongdoing. The departmental council could request his reinstatement. If the Council of State refuses, its administrator would remain in place for at least nine months. The administrator would have the power to make any personnel changes related to the conduct of the elections, including the replacement of the Chief Electoral Officer and all election officials.

The state’s new election law removed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from the presidency of the state election commission and made him a non-voting member.