{"id":2320684,"date":"2024-08-07T17:00:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T21:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-relief-for-ga-election-official-months-after-dem-legal-threats\/"},"modified":"2024-08-07T17:06:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T21:06:55","slug":"no-relief-for-ga-election-official-months-after-dem-legal-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-relief-for-ga-election-official-months-after-dem-legal-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"No Relief For GA Election Official Months After Dem Legal Threats"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fno-relief-for-ga-election-official-months-after-dem-legal-threats%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2320684&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a\u200c contentious situation involving \u200delection oversight\u2063 in Fulton County, Georgia, \u200cJulie Adams,\u200d a member of the local elections board, requested access to crucial election data prior to certifying the results of\u200b the\u2063 state&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-gop-turn-up-pressure-on-top-contenders-in-2024-race-with-loyalty-pledge-requirement\/\" title=\"Florida GOP increases pressure on 2024 contenders with loyalty pledge demand.\">presidential preference primary<\/a> \u2063held on March 12, 2024. Adams claimed that the \u2064elections \u2062director denied \u2062her access to this information,\u200b prompting her to withhold her vote on certification. Subsequently, the Democratic Party \u200bof \u200bGeorgia threatened criminal charges against her \u200cand other\u2064 board members, arguing that\u2063 certification is a mandatory process.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Adams filed a complaint seeking emergency relief, asserting her right to withhold certification until she could confirm the accuracy of the election data. Despite her request, the case has \u200cencountered delays in the Fulton County courts, leaving \u2062Adams unable to certify the May\u2063 primary election.<\/p>\n<p>At the core of \u2063the legal dispute is whether Adams&#8217; role on the\u200d board is \u200ddiscretionary,\u200b allowing her to evaluate and withhold certification based on election administration concerns, or purely ministerial, requiring her to rubber-stamp election outcomes regardless of those concerns. The lack of \u200dresolution in her case raises potential fears among election officials about their ability to perform their\u200d duties without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jamaal-bowman-could-face-more-than-30-years-behind-bars-for-fire-alarm-pull\/\" title=\"Jamaal Bowman may receive over 30 years in prison for pulling fire alarm.\">facing legal repercussions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the situation unfolds, the implications for the \u200dupcoming elections in November could be significant, potentially \u200ccreating a chilling effect on election oversight in Georgia if \u2063board members feel threatened by \u2063the actions of the Democratic Party.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Election board members are elected to oversee elections. As part of that job, Julie Adams, a member of Fulton County, Georgia&rsquo;s elections board, asked for access to election data before certifying the results of the state&rsquo;s March presidential preference primary. According to Adams, the elections director refused to provide that information, so without all those facts in front of her, Adams did not vote to certify the election.<\/p>\n<p>Ten days later, the Democrat Party of Georgia sent a letter to Adams and the rest of the board threatening that she could be subject to criminal charges for her decision. <\/p>\n<p>The letter warned Adams and other board members they should &ldquo;approve certification of Fulton County&rsquo;s election results going forward, and in particular for the remaining elections that will be held in 2024, to avoid unnecessary legal challenges and disputes.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Adams filed a complaint requesting emergency relief and contending that, as a board member, she is within her rights to withhold certification of an election when she has not been given access&nbsp;to election data and material needed to fulfill certification duties.<\/p>\n<p>Filed the day after Georgia&rsquo;s May primary, Adam&rsquo;s complaint urged the court to rule quickly because, &ldquo;based on her current lack of access to Election Materials and Processes, Plaintiff will be unable to fulfil her statutory duties to certify the accuracy of the May 21, 2024, Primary Election.&rdquo; With the case still unresolved, Adams declined to certify the May election.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of quickly putting to rest the idea that an elected official could be prosecuted for exercising her elected position, the Fulton County courts have kept the case in limbo, possibly through the November election.<\/p>\n<h2>Georgians Head to Polls for Presidential Preference Primary<\/h2>\n<p>Georgia held its presidential preference primary on March 12.<\/p>\n<p>Five days before the preference primary, Adams requested the qualified voter list, the voter check-in list, drop-box ballot recap sheets, and other election-related documentation she said she needed to fulfill her duties before certifying an election, according to her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2024-05-22-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a>. Election Director Nadine Williams told Adams that same evening that most of the requested documentation would not be available until after the election itself but that &ldquo;review of these documents is not required for certification,&rdquo; the complaint further alleges.<\/p>\n<p>On March 19, having not received any of the requested documentation, Adams voted not to certify the results of the election. Ten days later, the Democratic Party of Georgia sent a letter to Adams and the other four members of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, claiming certification is purely a &ldquo;ministerial&rdquo; task and that refusing to certify an election could be punished by criminal charges.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ultimately, if a member of the Board of Elections either &lsquo;willfully neglects&rsquo; or &lsquo;refuses to perform&rsquo; their statutory obligations, they &lsquo;shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,&#8217;&rdquo; the letter warned, citing O.C.G.A. &sect; 21-2-596.<\/p>\n<h2>What&rsquo;s the Point of a Board with No Discretion?<\/h2>\n<p>Superior Court of Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracydocket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2024-06-11-Order-of-voluntary-recusal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recused himself<\/a> from the case of Adams&rsquo; complaint in June, and the case has still not been reassigned. The question before the court is simple. Is Adams&rsquo; role discretionary &mdash; meaning she and other members are elected to evaluate an election, to certify its results when they are confident it was administered lawfully, and to withhold certification when they are not? Or is it ministerial &mdash; meaning she and other members <em>must<\/em> rubber-stamp the results of an election no matter what concerns they have about its administration?<\/p>\n<p>Georgia Democrats, reflecting a nationwide <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/12\/major-nevada-county-pressured-to-rubber-stamp-election-after-delaying-certification-to-probe-mishaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">push<\/a> by Democrats to neuter local election boards, seek to redefine Adams&rsquo; role as the latter. But Adams insists she was elected to do the former.<\/p>\n<p>Adams&rsquo; complaint cites the Authorization Act, which <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2010\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-2\/part-1\/subpart-2\/21-2-40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gives<\/a> the Board of Registration and Elections (BRE) &ldquo;the powers and duties of the election superintendent relating to the conduct of primaries and elections.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[T]he statutory role of election superintendent assigned to the BRE by Georgia law cannot be delegated in its entirety [away from the board and] to the Director&rdquo; of elections Nadine Williams, the complaint reads, arguing that the &ldquo;Plaintiff&rsquo;s duties are, in fact, discretionary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Some of the &ldquo;powers and duties&rdquo; outlined for the superintendent, under <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-2\/part-3\/section-21-2-70\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state statute<\/a>, include the power to &ldquo;inspect systematically and thoroughly the conduct of primaries and elections &hellip; to the end that primaries and elections may be honestly, efficiently, and uniformly conducted.&rdquo; One way to carry out the duty of &ldquo;computation, canvassing, tabulating, and certification,&rdquo; as the suit notes, <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-12\/section-21-2-493\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">includes<\/a> the superintendent comparing &ldquo;the registration figure with the certificates returned by the poll officers.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The complaint also <a href=\"https:\/\/library.municode.com\/ga\/fulton_county\/codes\/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTILOCOAMLOAC_CH14EL_ARTIIBOELRE_S14-32CRPODUGE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cites<\/a> Fulton County Local Act &sect; 14-32, &ldquo;[c]onsistent with the Authorizations Act,&rdquo; which vests the BRE with the &ldquo;powers and duties of the board of registrars relating to the registration of voters and absentee balloting procedures.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Williams, as described in the complaint, allegedly told Adams that &ldquo;her requests for supporting documentation relative to election results are unnecessary because the Director&rsquo;s summaries are submitted to a &lsquo;rigorous validation process&rsquo; and should simply be trusted.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Without the ability to confirm the accuracy of the returns and the ability to observe and inspect the various election processes in Fulton County, Plaintiff voted against the certification of election results&rdquo; in the March preference primary, the complaint continues.<\/p>\n<h2>What&rsquo;s Next?<\/h2>\n<p>By slow-walking Adams&rsquo; case, the Fulton County judicial system has failed to provide elected officials any assurance that they can do their jobs as they see fit without fear of the prosecutions threatened by Georgia Democrats. If left unresolved, the issue will almost certainly create a chilling effect on election officials who may have concerns about the certification of the upcoming election on Nov. 5.<\/p>\n<p>Fulton County in particular was recently <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/09\/board-refuses-to-have-fulton-county-investigated-for-double-scanning-3000-ballots-in-2020-recount\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chided<\/a> by the Georgia State Elections Board for violating the law during the 2020 election after it found more than 3,000 ballots were scanned twice during the recount. Two Republican members of the Fulton County Elections Board at the time did not vote to certify the election, as explained by The Federalist&rsquo;s Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway in her best-seller <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rigged-Media-Democrats-Seized-Elections\/dp\/168451259X\">Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections.<\/a><\/em>  The county was also reprimanded after it failed to count 1,326 votes during the 2022 primary. The county fixed the error and the election was &ldquo;recertified,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/georgia-investigation-finds-fulton-didnt-count-1300-votes-in-22-primary\/URWCNBOM4VHABGH6M62M6X2QQI\/\">according<\/a> to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the Georgia State Election Board <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/georgia-election-board-approves-new-inquiry-for-certifying-election-results\/BI6SME6TJVHQHGMMADOKGQ3UPU\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> in a 3-2 vote that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-democrats-look-to-fund-effort-to-elect-local-election-supervisors\/\" title=\"Report: Democrats Look to Fund Effort to Elect Local Election Supervisors\">county election board members<\/a> are entitled to a &ldquo;reasonable inquiry&rdquo; into election discrepancies before certifying the results of an election. It is unclear whether this rule impacts Adams&rsquo; case.<\/p>\n<p>Williams told The Federalist the county does not &ldquo;comment on matters pending litigation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Election board members are responsible for overseeing elections. Julie Adams, a member of the Fulton County elections board in Georgia, requested access to election data prior to certifying the results of the state&#8217;s March presidential preference primary. Adams claims that the elections director denied her request for this information, leading her to abstain from voting on the certification due to a lack of necessary facts. <\/p>\n<p>Ten days later, the Democratic Party of Georgia sent a letter warning Adams and other board members that they could face criminal charges for their decision not to certify. The letter urged them to approve certification for Fulton County&#8217;s election results moving forward, especially for upcoming 2024 elections, in order to prevent legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Adams filed a complaint seeking emergency relief and argued that as a board member, she has the right to withhold certification if she does not have access to essential election data needed for her duties. Her complaint was submitted shortly after Georgia&#8217;s May primary and emphasized that without access to election materials and processes, she would be unable to fulfill her statutory responsibilities regarding the May 21 primary.<\/p>\n<p>Despite ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding her case\u2014potentially extending through November\u2014Adams chose not to certify the May election results. The courts have yet to clarify whether an elected official can be prosecuted for exercising their role or if their responsibilities are merely procedural.<\/p>\n<p>Georgia held its presidential preference primary on March 12. Five days prior, Adams had requested various voter-related documents necessary for fulfilling her duties but was informed by Election Director Nadine Williams that most would only be available post-election and that reviewing these documents wasn&#8217;t required before certification.<\/p>\n<p>On March 19th, lacking any documentation from her requests, Adams voted against certifying the election results. Shortly thereafter, she received correspondence from Georgia Democrats asserting that refusing certification is strictly a &#8220;ministerial&#8221; duty which could lead to criminal consequences if neglected.<\/p>\n<p>The central issue before Fulton County Superior Court is whether Adams&#8217; role is discretionary\u2014allowing her judgment in evaluating an election\u2014or purely ministerial\u2014requiring automatic approval regardless of concerns about how it was conducted. While state Democrats aim to redefine this role as ministerial under pressure nationwide against local electoral oversight boards, Adams maintains she was elected with discretion in mind.<\/p>\n<p>Her complaint references state law granting powers related specifically to conducting primaries and elections which cannot be entirely delegated away from board members like herself or transferred solely onto Election Director Williams.<\/p>\n<p>Williams allegedly told Adams that supporting documentation requests were unnecessary because summaries provided by directors undergo rigorous validation processes deserving trust instead of independent verification by board members like herself who need assurance about accuracy before certifying results.<\/p>\n<p>The slow progress on this case leaves elected officials uncertain about performing their roles without fear of prosecution threats posed by political entities such as Georgia Democrats\u2014a situation likely creating hesitance among officials regarding upcoming certifications including those scheduled around November 5th.<\/p>\n<p>Fulton County has faced scrutiny previously over electoral mishaps during past elections; notably being reprimanded after discovering over 3 thousand ballots were scanned twice during recounts following allegations made public through various media outlets including The Federalist\u2019s Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway\u2019s book \u201cRigged.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Recently however\u2014the Georgia State Election Board ruled county boards must conduct reasonable inquiries into discrepancies prior approving final tallies although it remains unclear how this ruling affects Adam\u2019s ongoing litigation process according comments made by Williams declining further discussion while matters remain unresolved legally.<\/p>\n<p>Brianna Lyman serves as an elections correspondent at The Federalist where she covers related topics extensively having graduated Fordham University specializing International Political Economy featured across multiple platforms including Newsmax &amp; Fox News among others; follow Brianna via X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2320685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-07-at-3.13.50-PM-e1723058141461-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[34685,37470,37471,34297],"class_list":["post-2320684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-election-officials","tag-ga-election","tag-legal-threats","tag-political-tension"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-07-at-3.13.50-PM-e1723058141461-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2320684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2320685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2320684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2320684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2320684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}