Democratic operatives supported by Kamala Harris’ campaign team filed a lawsuit against the Georgia State Election Board on Monday over its recent rule changes and the impact they’re expected to have on the presidential matchup against Donald Trump.
The Georgia Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee are listed as plaintiffs in the suit against the State Election Board, which has faced widespread criticism, including from some Republicans, over rule changes made earlier this month.
In early August, three Republican members of the State Election Board — Janelle King, Rick Jeffares, and Janice Johnston — approved a rule permitting county election board members to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results if they have concerns about voter fraud or other issues.
Last week, King, Jeffares, and Johnston voted to advance a rule that would require county election officials to count ballots by hand to verify that the number of ballots collected on Election Day matches the total number of voters who submitted ballots the same day.
The lawsuit filed Monday afternoon says the rule changes undermine Georgia law, which requires board members to certify election results by 5 p.m. six days after the election.
Critics say the rule changes are laying the groundwork for Trump and his allies to block certification of the election if he loses to Harris in Georgia, one of seven pivotal battleground states.
“Democrats are prepared, and we will stop them,” Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Harris-Walz team, told Capital B Atlanta in an emailed statement.
“Certifying an election is not a choice, it’s the law,” Fulks continued. “A few unelected extremists can’t just decide not to count your vote.”
King characterized the lawsuit as a political tactic “designed to distract from the important work that is being done” by the State Election Board.
“My mission is not to alter the outcomes of past elections, but to ensure that every vote is counted accurately and every election is conducted correctly going forward,” King told Capital B Atlanta via text message Monday night. “I take offense to the baseless accusations, the intimidation of those who appointed us, and the outright lies that continue to mislead the public in hopes of garnering votes.”
Georgia Democrats are also calling on Gov. Brian Kemp to intervene in the ongoing State Election Board controversy, which party leaders worry will needlessly cast doubt on the winner of November’s presidential race unless something is done.
Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath is among the group of Democrats who hosted a Monday morning press conference urging Georgia’s GOP governor to rein in the three Republican members of the State Election Board in response to their approval of the controversial changes to the state’s election rules.
The rule changes could allow Trump to further erode trust in the electoral process in the fall, the way he did during the 2020 election in November, Democratic leaders argue. State Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, said the rule changes could lead to a repeat of the 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection happening in Georgia.
“A worst-case scenario would be Jan. 6, 2.0,” Park told Capital B Atlanta on Monday. “Now everything is thrown into chaos.”
In July, the three aforementioned election board members conducted an alleged illegal meeting to discuss their proposed rule changes after allegedly failing to provide timely public notice in accordance with state law. A government watchdog group known as American Oversight filed a lawsuit in response to the meeting.
Critics, including McBath, argue the rule changes violate state ethics guidelines. They worry that the three State Election Board members are doing Trump’s bidding to cause calamity on or after Election Day if the former president doesn’t win decisively.
Trump praised King, Jeffares, and Johnston by name during a campaign rally in Atlanta earlier this month, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”
“They are creating barriers to counting votes and certifying the elections so Donald Trump can once again attempt to throw our country into chaos,” McBath said during a Monday morning press conference inside the Gold Dome in Atlanta.
During the press conference, attorney Wayne Kendall called on Kemp to force the pro-Trump election board members to resign or be removed, saying the governor has the power to do so.
“We call upon him to do so forthwith,” Kendall said of Kemp. “The law requires him to hold a hearing.”
The governor’s office expressed “uncertainty” Monday afternoon as to whether he has the power to intervene after confirming it received ethics violation complaint letters from state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, among others.
Kemp press secretary Garrison Douglas said the governor’s office is seeking legal advice from Attorney General Chris Carr.
“We will respond following receipt of this advice and further evaluation of the letters,” Douglas told Capital B Atlanta via email on Monday.
Kemp and Trump recently mended fences after years of disagreement. Trump previously blasted Kemp for not backing his attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. In 2022, Trump endorsed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue in his failed primary bid to unseat Kemp, which Kemp won by a landslide.
Park and others implored Democratic voters to turn out in huge numbers in November to prevent Republicans from raising doubts about the election results.
“My focus will be trying to highlight what we’re seeing here and then turning out the vote as much as I can,” Park said.
