ICYMI: Democrats Foil Efforts to Delay Election Certification in Fulton County

Despite extremists wanting to block or delay certification, the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections certified the May 21st election on Tuesday

MAGA Republicans’ efforts to sow doubt and discord into Georgia elections reached a new low last week when Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections member Julie Adams sued the board and the county’s elections director in a transparent effort to block or delay the certification of the May 21 election results. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Adams has been a director for the Tea Party Patriots, which supports Trump’s presidential bid.” 

On Friday, the DPG and DNC joined a lawsuit to prevent Adams from delaying the certification of the election. While Adams herself abstained from voting to certify the election Tuesday, the remaining four members of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, including a Republican, all voted to do so. While Adams’ stalling tactics failed, they are viewed by observers as “a likely preview of this year’s elections” should Donald Trump again lose to President Biden in Georgia and across the country. 

“Trump and MAGA Republicans have made it clear they are planning to try to block certification of November’s election when they are defeated again, and this is a transparent attempt to set the stage for that fight,” said DPG Chair Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “The Democratic Party of Georgia will continue to combat Trump’s efforts to undermine our democracy and ensure local elections are certified, which is required by law.”   

Read the story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution below:

AJC: Republican member of Fulton elections board won’t certify primary results
Rosie Manins, 5/21/2024

• Julie Adams, who joined the Fulton County Board of Registration & Elections in February, sued the board and the county’s elections director after the May 21 primary, claiming she’s prevented from performing her board duties. Adams wants access to “essential election materials and processes” and a ruling that her duties – including certification of election results – are discretionary, not mandatory.
  
  
• On Friday, the Democratic Party of Georgia and Democratic National Committee sought to intervene in the case, saying it threatens to impair their interests. Party chair and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his supporters have made it clear that they will try to block certification of November’s election if defeated.
  
  
• “This is a transparent attempt to set the stage for that fight,” Williams said of Adams’ lawsuit. “The Democratic Party of Georgia will continue to combat Trump’s efforts to undermine our democracy and ensure local elections are certified, which is required by law.”
  
  
• The board certified the May 21 election results during a special meeting on Tuesday; Adams abstained. Before the vote, Adams said the county “must correct the way we do our elections.”
  
  
• Aaron Johnson, a Democratic member of the board, said he’s sick of the county’s elections department and its staff being dragged through the mud when they do “an exceptional job.”
  
  
• “The State (Election) Board still has to certify,” Johnson said. “It’s a continual process, it’s not something that ends today. The problem that we have in Fulton County is the continuous misrepresentation of what actually is going on.”
  
  
• The county did not comment on Adams’ case, which is assigned to Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville.
  
  
• In a March 7 email attached to the lawsuit, the county elections director told Adams that board members are welcome to observe the “reconciliation” of election results before certification. The director said that most of the information Adams sought was not immediately available for review before the certification deadline.
  
  
• Adams said she was told by the board chair that she would need to formally seek the board’s approval for access to the information. She said she was also warned after voting not to certify the presidential primary results that she could face a misdemeanor charge for refusing to perform her board duties.

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