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Republican lawmakers sue Georgia's State Election Board

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Published  October 10, 2024 11:31pm EDT
2024 Election
FOX 5 Atlanta

GOP lawmakers file suit against State Election Board

A of group of former state Republican lawmakers has filed a legal challenge against the Georgia State Election Board. They’re asserting the recent rule changes the board made violates the separation of powers.

The Brief

    • A coalition of nine former and current Republican lawmakers, led by Eric Johnson, has legally challenged the Georgia State Election Board for making rule changes that are seen as overstepping their authority.
    • New election rules, including a requirement for a hand count of ballots, have been instituted by three conservative members of the State Election Board, which some officials believe could lead to disorder on Election Day.
    • The rule changes purported to enhance election security are feared by critics like Johnson to be undermining public trust in the electoral process and potentially delaying the post-election certification process.
    • Former President Donald Trump has commended the rule changes, which has led to concerns about mixed messages to voters regarding election integrity and participation.
    • Despite attempts to get comments, the three board members who voted for the changes did not respond in time for the publication of the article.

ATLANTA - A group of former state Republican lawmakers has filed a legal challenge against the Georgia State Election Board, alleging that the board has violated the separation of powers. 

"They're supposed to implement laws, not make them," said former Georgia Senate President Pro Tem and Chair of RightCount, Eric Johnson. 

He, along with eight other former and current Republican state lawmakers, filed a 26-page brief challenging the legality of the rule changes the State Election Board made over the last two weeks. 

Those lawmakers include Georgia state Rep. Jodi Lott, former state Rep. Allen Peake, former state Rep. Brett Harrell, former state Rep. Mike Dudgeon, former state Rep. Tom Kirby, former state Rep. Ken Pullin, former state Rep. Marc Morris and former state Rep. Heath Clark. 

"They are making laws and have crossed a boundary of the division of government," Johnson said.  

On Sept. 20, three conservative members of the board, Janelle King, Rick Jeffares and Janice Johnston, voted to make several controversial rule changes to how elections have to be run in Georgia.  

That included requiring a hand count of all ballots at every precinct, a rule that state elections officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said could create chaos and confusion on Election Day.  

Supporters of the rule changes say they make elections more secure and fair.  

SEE ALSO: Fulton County sues State Election Board over ‘election denier’ monitors

Johnson believes these changes will undermine people’s confidence in Georgia’s elections.   

"We're trying to convince people their vote counts. And every time they sort of start tweaking this thing like there's a problem they're trying to fix, it discourages people, particularly on the right, to vote," Johnson said.  

Former President Donald Trump praised the work the three board members were doing at a rally in Atlanta in August. 

Election Board member Janice Johnston was even in attendance at that rally. 

Johnson says he believes Trump is confusing his supporters by encouraging them to vote in any way they can, while also supporting rule changes that could create doubt in Georgia’s election security.  

"We're already less than 30 days away. So, there's a mixed signal that's happening that I don't think he realizes," Johnson said.  

Johnson said according to Georgia law, the election results have to be certified a week after Election Day.  

He worries the hand counting and other new rules could delay that certification.  

"If it's as close as polling shows, it could go for a while. And that may be going to trial and court like the Bush versus Gore scenario. America doesn't need that," Johnson said.  

He says the challenge should be heard in a courtroom Wednesday. 

FOX 5 reached out to the three board members who passed the rule changes but didn’t hear back from them in time for publication. 

The Source

  • FOX 5 Atlanta original reporting