ATLANTA — Four years after the 2020 election, a newly GOP-aligned election board in Georgia is pushing to reinvestigate the state’s largest county for its handling of the vote.
Georgia’s State Election Board voted 3-2 Wednesday to ask the state’s attorney general to investigate the Fulton County government, seeking to reopen an inquiry closed in May.
The action shows the degree to which Republican outrage over the 2020 election continues to animate party activists and comes on the heels of a Saturday rally in Atlanta where former President Donald Trump attempted to relitigate unproven claims that he won Georgia, which President Joe Biden won that year by a narrow margin. He praised the State Election Board at the same rally.
It’s unclear if Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican who has been opposed by Trump, will take any action. A spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The resolution says that if Carr doesn’t act, the board will try to hire an outside lawyer to conduct an inquiry.
It’s also unclear what could happen if an inquiry does go forward. In a hotly disputed 2021 law, the board was given the power to take over election administration in individual counties. That provision was always aimed at Fulton County in the aftermath of an election that an independent monitor said was characterized by sloppy practices and poor management but with no evidence of any intentional wrongdoing.
A trio of Republican partisans aligned with Trump has taken control of the five-member regulatory board, which has no direct role in determining election results but writes rules to ensure that elections run smoothly and hears complaints about violations.
Some activists who have long wanted action against Fulton County argue that officials should face criminal charges. Those activists have also long pushed for access to the paper ballots from the 2020 election, which could enable a citizen review similar to one that roiled Arizona in 2021.
As part of the May resolution of the earlier inquiry, the board found that Fulton County improperly double-counted some votes. But those who brought the complaint say other issues are unresolved, such as missing electronic ballot scans.
“It seems to me that somebody is moving heaven and earth to not allow anyone to get to the paper ballots,” said Dr. Janice Johnston, a retired obstetrician appointed to the board by the state Republican Party. “I don’t know why. I’m just interested in the data and interested in the numbers.”
Wednesday’s decision is likely to be met with litigation. Fulton County’s election board sent a letter to the state board on Monday flatly refusing to appear, saying the May resolution is final and the board is legally prohibited from pursuing further actions on the same charges.
“We will not engage in any further discussions, investigations or other action related to this case,” the local board said in a statement issued by county spokesperson Jessica Corbitt. “To do so would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and time that is best spent preparing for the upcoming general election.”
The state board’s nonpartisan chair, John Fervier, tried to block the action, citing a letter from Attorney General Chris Carr that he said also warned the move would be illegal. The Associated Press wasn’t immediately able to obtain a copy of the letter.
“We are putting this board in legal jeopardy by approving that motion,” Fervier said.
Johnston, who led a successful effort to overturn Fervier’s ruling blocking consideration of the move, said a lawyer for the state GOP had advised her that the board could legally go ahead.
“The State Election Board determines when an investigation is concluded, and in my opinion it has not been concluded,” Johnston said.
It’s at least the second recent time that state Republican Party officials or employees directly advised the board on a course of action. Party Chairman Josh McKoon recently sent two proposed rules and talking points to another GOP-aligned member of the board, former state Sen. Rick Jeffares.
Part of the deal made in May was that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the State Election Board and Fulton County would agree on a monitoring team. On Wednesday, though, the board refused to vote on the team proposed by Raffensperger and Fulton County because it included the former chief lawyer for Raffensperger’s office and the man who monitored Fulton’s 2020 election.
Raffensperger’s office declined to comment on the board’s actions. He was removed as a voting member of the board in 2021 and from his nonvoting capacity by lawmakers this year, largely driven by GOP anger at his defense of Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.
At the Saturday rally, Trump said the three GOP-aligned board members “are all pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory” while criticizing Fervier and the Democrat on the panel. He in particular singled out Johnston, who was in the second row and stood to acknowledge Trump’s praise.
“My courage was contagious?” Trump said. “Well, your courage is contagious, too.”
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