A Georgia judge has rejected an effort by Trump allies seeking to give local election boards the authority to withhold certification of election results when fraud or other irregularities are suspected.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge James McBurney ruled that Georgia law requires election boards to certify the vote totals presented to them. Any concerns or disputes must be addressed in court after certification, not beforehand.
In his 11-page decision, McBurney wrote, “If election superintendents were… free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge… Georgia voters would be silenced. Our Constitution and our Election Code do not allow for that to happen.”
The lawsuit was brought by Julie Adams, a Fulton County Board of Elections member, with support from the America First Policy Institute, a conservative group linked to Donald Trump. Critics argued the case was intended to disrupt election processes, especially if next month’s presidential election in Georgia results in a tight race.
Lawyers for Adams and a spokesperson for America First have not yet commented on the ruling or whether they plan to appeal.
