Democrats sue Georgia election board, warning of ‘chaos’

Democrats sued the Georgia State Election Board on Monday, arguing that measures approved by the board this month seeking to alter the election certification process in the state were illegal and could create chaos on Election Day.

The lawsuit claims that the board intended to give local election officials a broad license to “hunt for purported election irregularities of any kind, potentially delaying certification and displacing longstanding (and court-supervised) processes for addressing fraud.”

The lawsuit was filed in state court by local election officials, political candidates, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Georgia with support from Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The move comes weeks after the State Election Board voted 3-2 to pass rules to give election officials authority to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into elections before certification and to require that county election officials be given “all election related documentation” before certification. Both rules, the lawsuit argues, create the impression that local election officials have discretionary power over certifying election results.

The political spotlight has pivoted back to Georgia in recent weeks, since President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and polls have shown Harris closing the gap with former President Donald Trump in the crucial swing state. The increasingly close nature of the race there has thrust the actions of the State Election Board to center stage.

Members of the board who voted to pass the new rules said that they would not permit officials to ignore deadlines for certification set by state law. But the lawsuit notes that some local election officials in Georgia have already sought to delay or refuse certification, and that the new measures add to a legal uncertainty that undermines the entire election process across the state.

“These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the postelection process and — if interpreted as their drafters have suggested — invite chaos by establishing new processes at odds with existing statutory duties,” the lawsuit argues.

The suit is asking the court to clearly state that certification is mandatory and cannot be delayed by election officials. It also seeks clarification that the courts, and not local election boards, are the venue for resolving disputes about alleged irregularities or fraud.

Delaying certification, the lawsuit argues, could also result in “mass disenfranchisement of eligible, registered Georgians.”

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Democrats pointed to praise that members of the State Election Board received from Trump, and recalled the Trump effort to overturn the result in Georgia in 2020.

“The three members Donald Trump called his ‘pit bulls’ for ‘victory’ disagree, and they’re determined to establish a new power of not certifying an election result should their preferred candidate lose — as he did in 2020,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Members of the state board of election did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit lands months after right-wing election activists obtained a 3-2 majority on the State Election Board, and began passing a host of rules and regulations that aligned with conservative goals.

During meetings in which both rules were passed, election officials from across the state weighed in, saying that some of the board’s proposals would create difficulties for local election officials so close to the election and cause unneeded extra work and costs.

In a statement, Quentin Fulks, a deputy campaign manager for Harris, framed the lawsuit as part of a broader effort by Republicans “to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results when they lose again in November.”

The shift in the board, and the new rules, have alarmed Democrats, voting-rights groups and even some Republicans, who have said that the board has exceeded its authority.

Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state, chastised the board this month, stating that the last-minute changes were undermining confidence in elections and risking the integrity of the election.

“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Misguided attempts by the State Election Board will delay election results and undermine chain of custody safeguards. Georgia voters reject this 11th-hour chaos, and so should the unelected members of the State Election Board.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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