Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is not required to act on complaints seeking to remove members of the State Election Board, who are under fire for approving new rules to protect election integrity. The state Attorney General, Chris Carr, a Kemp ally, declined to issue an advisory opinion on Friday regarding whether Kemp has the authority to address ethics complaints against the pro-Trump majority controlling the board.
Carr's four-page opinion stated that the Democratic officials and voting rights activists calling for the removal of the members do not have the legal standing to trigger a hearing. According to Carr, state law “should not be interpreted to mean that a citizen can simply submit information to the Governor and trigger the hearing process.”
Carr’s decision relieves Kemp of immediate pressure, clarifying that Kemp is not obligated to act on the complaints. This likely allows him to avoid confronting Republicans on the election board who are supported by President Trump. The governor has been trying to avoid conflicts over election laws, especially after clashing with Trump over the true 2020 election results in Georgia. Although their feud has cooled, Kemp continues to dismiss any attempts to revisit the actual results in the state, calling it a “distraction” from GOP efforts to reclaim Georgia in the upcoming elections.
Republicans have accused Kemp of not supporting the pro-Trump majority's push to reopen inquiries into Fulton County’s 2020 vote or initiate broad investigations of future elections.
