Fulton County filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia on Tuesday, while the State Election Board voted to subpoena the county’s election records from the 2020 presidential election.
At the heart of the conflict is the county’s refusal to accept election monitors favored by the board’s Republican majority, which includes members who questioned the results of the fraudulent 2020 election.
Fulton County had previously agreed to appoint a team to oversee its performance in the upcoming November election, part of a previous agreement with the state board and the secretary of state’s office. However, Republican members of the state board are pushing to appoint their own monitors to supervise the county’s operations. In response, Fulton’s board of elections filed a lawsuit on Monday, arguing that the state board lacks the legal authority to impose such monitors.
In the state board meeting on Tuesday, the divided board issued a subpoena for a wide range of Fulton County’s 2020 election records. The board also summoned Fulton’s election officials to appear at a future meeting to address their concerns.
This escalating legal battle reflects the state board’s increasingly assertive stance, as the new Republican majority has enacted several rules safeguarding the integrity of the upcoming election. These moves have prompted multiple lawsuits, accusing the board of overstepping its legal boundaries.
The latest tensions stem from lingering scrutiny of Fulton County’s handling of the 2020 election. A state investigation found that over 3,000 ballots were likely scanned twice during a recount. As a result, in May, the board reprimanded Fulton County and mandated the hiring of monitors for the upcoming election, requiring the approval of both the state board and the secretary of state.
In July, Fulton County hired a team of monitors led by Ryan Germany, the former general counsel for the secretary of state’s office, which received approval from the secretary’s office. However, recent changes to the state board’s composition have left the board divided over the selection. Some members have expressed a desire to appoint their own monitors, rejecting the team led by Germany.
According to the lawsuit filed in Fulton County Superior Court, state board Chairman John Fervier and board member Janice Johnston pressured Fulton County to accept their chosen monitors. The lawsuit alleges that Johnston threatened to “disavow” the county if it did not comply. The lawsuit argues that the state board does not have the authority to force Fulton County to accept its monitors, and Fulton is seeking an injunction to block the move.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Johnston and fellow board member Janell King accused Fulton County of violating the May agreement by failing to appoint a monitoring team acceptable to the board. “At some point we have to stop allowing them to find workarounds to an agreement that was put in place because of errors that they made,” Johnston said.
Johnston and King expressed support for reopening the investigation into Fulton County, a move opposed by Fervier and Democratic board member Sara Tindall Ghazal. Ghazal emphasized that the board lacked the legal authority to enforce the monitoring team’s composition.
The board ultimately voted to issue subpoenas for Fulton County’s election records, with Johnston, King, and board member Rick Jeffares supporting the move, despite opposition from Fervier and Ghazal.
