CREW, ACLU of Georgia and Public Rights Project object to a newly proposed rule by the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) that would illegally broaden county election board members’ authority prior to election certification, under the guise of transparency. 

The rule, which would allow county board members to examine “all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections prior to certification of results,” plainly exceeds the SEB’s rulemaking authority, would invite abuse and could impose unreasonable burdens on Georgia election workers in the hectic six-day period between election day and certification.

The broad language of the rule is plainly in violation of the law and would not withstand judicial review—Georgia law does not vest power in individual members of county election boards and no Georgia statute grants even full county boards unconditional access to election documents.

Additionally, the proposed rule would invite disruption and abuse of county canvassing and certification, especially since it provides no safeguards against document requests designed to delay or obstruct the lawful certification process and does not limit access to documents containing sensitive personal information.

Already, a current member of the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, Julie Adams, has burdened elections staff with demands for documents, refused to certify elections and provided no credible explanation as to why the extensive documents provided to her were insufficient—raising questions about her document demands and concerns about similar behavior at a larger scale should the rule be passed. During an election year where the concerns of election subversion are already high, the SEB should be looking to enact measures that bolster confidence in our elections, not ones that risk burdening election workers and legitimizing efforts to sabotage the certification process.

Read the comment here.

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