Local Boards Granted Authority to Withhold Vote Certification in Case of Discrepancies – One America News Network
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:55 PM – Wednesday, August 7, 2024
The state board of elections in Georgia has implemented new regulations allowing local election boards to refuse to certify a vote in the event of apparent discrepancies.
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By a vote of 3-2, the five-member board approved the resolution. Dr. Janice Johnson, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King, the three board members who supported it, were mentioned by Donald Trump three days prior during a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia.
Michael Heekin, a Republican appointee to the Fulton election board, proposed the regulation. When discrepancies are evident during a vote, local boards will be required by law to launch a “reasonable inquiry” and have the authority to withhold certification until that investigation is complete. However, it does not specify what constitutes a “reasonable inquiry.”
During a press conference held outside the Georgia capital hearing room, Democrat state representative Sam Park claimed that the new rule effectively renders the certification of election results discretionary.
“These are MAGA certification rules, and they’re in direct conflict with Georgia law, which states in multiple places that local elections board officials shall perform their duties, meaning their duties are mandatory, not discretionary,” Park said in an angry tone.
How much authority state law and court precedent give the state board of elections to establish regulations for local boards was the main topic of discussion around the rule. Election supervisors’ authority to declare a vote legal or invalid is limited by ministerial duties as outlined in Georgia Supreme Court case law, according to Nikhel Sus, deputy chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C.
“It is contrary to settled Georgia law and would exceed this court’s rule-making authority,” Sus said.
“Nikhel previously served as a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice in the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch, and as a Counsel at WilmerHale LLP,” justsecurity.org stated.
According to the law, district attorneys, courts, and other entities must investigate disagreements over votes in order to settle them.
Board members who are in favor of the rule argue that since local elections supervisors must attest to the accuracy and correctness of election results, the rule should give elections boards the authority to independently verify this information.
However, since the new rule comes so close to an election, a legal challenge is expected to arise.
“By supporting this rule, we are saying that 90 days before the election is not insufficient time,” said Sara Tindall Ghazal, a Democrat board member.
After Ghazal’s statement, King, a Republican board member, responded by saying: “I think by supporting this rule, what we’re saying is that we stand with those who have to sign legal documents stating that this information is accurate and ensuring that they have what’s necessary to stand by that legal document.”
The new rule will take effect after 20 days, however, it can still be challenged in court.
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