Georgia State Election Board passes new rule allowing county boards to demand more information before certifying an election

Georgia’s State Election Board passed a new rule ahead of the November election that will give county election boards the authority to demand more information, including the ability to conduct inquiries, before certifying election results.

Georgia’s State Election Board passed a new rule ahead of the November election that will give county election boards the authority to demand more information, including the ability to conduct inquiries, before certifying election results. The rule change comes 91 days ahead of the presidential election – something that was of concern to the board’s lone sitting Democrat, Sara Tindall Ghazal. Georgia Democrats like Ghazal say the new rule could potentially delay certification of the results in the upcoming general election if a county’s election board chooses to do so. “The actions by the Georgia State Election Board today threaten Georgia’s time-tested checks and balances that we all rely on for fair, accurate, and secure election results. Georgia already has rigorous processes in place to verify, count, and review every ballot – and audit those results – prior to certification,” Voting Rights Lab Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Sam Tarazi said in a statement. Tarazi said the rule could result in “unknowable delays in future elections at the behest of a single individual,” adding: “It flies in the face of the strong checks and balances that have been in place for Georgia’s elections for decades.” The vote passed 3-2, with board Chairman John Fervier crossing party lines to vote alongside Ghazal opposing the rule. Fervier was appointed as chairman of the board by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp earlier this year. During the heavily attended public hearing Tuesday, the board also passed – in a 3-1 vote along party lines – a motion to increase the number of poll watchers who are allowed to observe the tabulation process in Georgia’s 159 counties. It also unanimously voted against a renewed effort to introduce new rules for hand-marked paper ballots in time for November’s election to prevent possible vulnerabilities.