On Wednesday the Democrat-dominated Fulton County Commission voted 5-2 along party lines to reject Julie Adams and Jason Frazier to be the Republican Party’s chosen representatives on the county’s elections board. This partisan precedent is sending shock waves around the state, prompting state GOP chair Josh McKoon to reply that it is “not only is it unfair, this action sows mistrust into the election process. Fairness and trust are fundamental.”
It also led to a promise from McKoon that state Republicans will sue the Commission.
Consider that Democrat Commission Chairman Rob Pitts flatly said, “I hope they are not approved” while Democrat Commissioner Mo Ivory declared they should be rejected because they support President Donald Trump. The Democrats’ action prompted GOP Commissioner Bridget Thorne to sarcastically question whether the Commission “should just allow Democrat activists to choose our Republican representatives on the Fulton County Board of Elections?”
As this story unfold, though, also consider some background: The Fulton Board of Elections consists of two Democrats nominated by the Democrat Party and two Republicans nominated by the Republican Party. A supposedly bipartisan Board chair is nominated and approved by the County Commission— and the board is tasked with the running the elections in Georgia’s most populous county. The “bipartisanship” is designed to create an element of trust and fairness in the election process (which has been repeatedly criticized especially since the 2020 general election which President Donald Trump barely lost in Georgia).
Part I, Chapter 2, Article 2, Section 66, of Fulton’s Code of Ethics binds the County Commission to be impartial in conducting its duties and orders members not to impede those persons best qualified to serve from holding public office. It states:
- “It is essential to the proper government and administration of Fulton County that members of the board of commissioners, as well as all other officers and employees of the county, are in fact and in appearance, independent and impartial in the performance of their official duties;”
- “Accordingly, the standards hereinafter set forth must be so interpreted and understood as not to unreasonably frustrate or impede the desire or inclination to seek and serve in public office by those persons best qualified to serve.”
In this context, it should be noted that Adams and Frazier are both highly experienced in election law, election procedures and voter registration.
Bottom line: The Fulton County Commission is now vulnerable to another yet lawsuit likely to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars defending its actions.
