The Georgia Election Certification Rule Lawsuit is about the decision-making ability of the county election officials in Georgia whether they refuse to certify election results, you know? The process of certification is standardly a precious type of process where it is confirmed that every vote is counted correctly, thus confirming the outcome of an election and that is precisely why this process is super important.
The lawsuit is involved therefore to state that Julie Adams, a member of the Fulton County election board, complained about the position of local officials to take it upon themselves not to certify their results if they are not sure about its purity or correctness. All in all, in this very issue, it is the faith of the next generation’s elections that, after the drama that happened in the 2020 presidential election, is in danger of being disturbed and this is why it is becoming a hot topic of discussion. So, let’s just go over a few things about this case, shall we?
Background on Election Certification in Georgia
Legally, the basic process of certifying election outcomes is kinda straightforward down there in Georgia. Like, local election boards must approve results by a certain due date, thus including the one after the election day, which means the Monday, within the specified time. Rather historically, it has been a big thing until the 2020 elections. Like, when Trump lost against Biden, some Republicans, including Adams, started raising questions about the election procedures and proposed alterations. They claim that the officiating team should delay or in the worst scenario not even provide validation if they think that there are some irregularities with the voters’ tallying, you know?
What Is Julie Adams’ Lawsuit Then?
Well, the lawsuit brought by Fulton County election board member, Julie Adams, demonstrates that the officials of the county should have the right to deny certification in case of fraud or miscalculations, which is pretty fair actually. Adams demands that election officials investigate all these issues before they can give the confirmation of the results. Her lawsuit is endorsed by the America First Policy Institute, an organization that is close to Trump, and claims that safeguarding the integrity of the elections requires this process, you know? All in all, just to put it simply, Julie Adams wants local officials to have the authority to stop certification if they have concerns regarding the accuracy of the ballot count.
What Are Some Key Legal Developments
In this case, the Judge of the State of Georgia Robert McBurney ruled that the results of elections must be certified by the county election officials even if such officials have doubts about the integrity of the elections or detected mistakes. Just so you know, he clarified that it is the duty of the officials to report any concerns to the right authorities and a refusal to certify based on only fears is not an option at all. The judge pointed out that the certification has to be completed pursuant to the law within the statutory timeline in Georgia, with other matters being sent via litigation afterward, you know?
So, all in all, the case of McBurney happened to be one of the many cases against the new local rules for state elections in Georgia, among them some cases are the ones identifying whether the local election boards could change the procedure of counting votes or postpone the certification period.
What Has Been The Impact on Georgia’s Election Process?
Well, had the result of the case been in favor of Adams, there would have been a new opportunity given to the local politicians particularly those in the Republican areas, to manipulate the certification process where they deemed it necessary. At least that’s what the mainstream media is portraying.
