Since late Friday and into Sunday, the state GOP and the Trump for President campaign have been sparring with the Democrat-dominated Fulton County Board of Elections over election integrity issues. It lost one fight but won another— and the back-and-forth continues. It all started when Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer dismissed a GOP lawsuit attempting to prevent counties from operating election offices over the weekend to accept hand-delivered absentee ballots.
The GOP plaintiffs argued the decision to open the offices on Nov. 2 and 3– where voters could hand-deliver absentee ballots directly to registrars in four government buildings in Democrat-leaning areas– was unsupported by state law. However, a loophole in the law was cited by the court to allow the weekend absentee ballot collection operation.
Plaintiffs also argued that the lack of poll watchers to observe the absentee (or mail-in) ballot intake by local election officials compromised election integrity.
“After 19 days of early voting, the Fulton County Board of Elections, without the knowledge of the Secretary of State’s office, violated the spirit of free and fair elections and the will of the General Assembly by opening four government buildings in order to receive absentee ballots,” said state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta. “This decision raises serious questions regarding the chain of custody of ballots, posing a threat to transparency in our elections.”
State Sen. John Albers, R-Alpharetta, added:
“I am deeply concerned by the recent decisions made by unelected and interim Fulton elections workers. These actions were taken without the approval of the Fulton Elections Board, Fulton County Commissioners, or the Secretary of State. These same unelected Fulton elections workers then, in writing, told each other they were not allowed to have observers, clearly subverting the law and removing transparency. When we questioned the Elections Director, she misrepresented the facts and was uncooperative. We will continue to monitor this ongoing situation and have been in contact with the Secretary of State’s office and legal counsel regarding these issues.”
Both these lawmakers represent a portion of Fulton County, the most populous one in the state. Their pressure, coupled with complaints from the state GOP and Trump campaign, finally resulted in Fulton County grudgingly allowing some GOP poll watchers to be present for the receiving of absentee ballots.
James Magazine Online has also learned that Fulton County is not the only Georgia county involved in this surprise absentee ballot operation. Liberal stronghold Athens-Clarke County was involved and perhaps one or two other counties as this is being written.
