Georgia Board Gives County Officials Undefined Powers to Challenge Elections

The Republican-controlled Georgia Election Board has voted to allow county officials the ability to engage in “reasonable inquiry” of elections before they have to certify results in a political contest — a move that could run afoul of state elections laws and could result in local officials making such decisions based on partisanship rather than legitimate concerns.

State law in Georgia allows for challenges to election outcomes, but they generally come from recounts or through the state court system. The state election board’s new rule, however, allows county election officials to decide for themselves whether an inquiry is needed.

Missing from the new rule is any definition of what a “reasonable inquiry” is — no restrictions are included for the term, allowing local officials to decide for themselves what a reasonable inquiry might entail.

The rule also allows those officials to delay or refuse to certify election results. Critics say the rule change contradicts state election laws, which state that local officials “shall” certify the results — meaning their job is to solely produce the results, not discern whether they’re accurate or not.

The change comes just shy of four years from when Donald Trump, then president and now the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, pressured state elections officials in Georgia “find” him enough votes to overturn President Joe Biden’s win of the state in the 2020 race. Trump alleged, citing no factual evidence of any kind, that the election in Georgia (and in many other states) had been rife with fraud.

Last weekend, when it appeared that the Georgia Election Board would vote in favor of these new changes, Trump lauded the Republican members of the panel during a rally in Atlanta.

“They’re on fire, they’re doing a great job,” Trump said, naming the three members by name and describing them as “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

That mention of “victory” in connection with the board’s decision appears to demonstrate that Trump views their action as directly helping him to win the state in the November election.

Legal action against the new rule is likely to follow, with litigants citing the state laws that the rule contravenes. Critics lambasted the rule as both improper and illegal.

“Trump-backed state election board members … want to change our election rules to give power to local elections officials to halt the counting of votes and slow down or refuse certification if they say there are any irregularities, making the certification of election results discretionary,” said state Rep. Sam Park (D), who added that their duties “are mandatory … not discretionary.”

“Inconsistencies in certification could tie up both the counties and the state in expensive and time-consuming litigation,” said Kristin Nabers, the Georgia state director for the voting rights organization All Voting Is Local Action. “This could result not only in counties missing the certification deadline but also in undermining public trust and confidence in our elections.”