On Tuesday, Georgia granted major new authority to local officials over the certification of election results. This might cause future post-election certification procedures to be delayed or derailed.
By a vote of 3-2, the State Election Board, which is controlled by Republicans, decided to define the certification of election results as a statement that “the tabulation and canvassing of the election are thorough and accurate, and the election results constitute a truthful and accurate accounting of all votes cast in that particular election.”
Without defining “reasonable inquiry,” the regulation is likely to be interpreted differently in each county. It is anticipated that county election boards will be able to ask for information and, if necessary, postpone or prevent the results from being certified. Additionally, the ensuing delays might make it impossible for state and federal authorities to get the election results on time.
The certification of election results locally used to be a standard procedure handled by ministers. However, following the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to obstruct the procedure, claiming that officials had the authority to postpone or prevent certification and expecting to use county and state officials to nullify the election outcomes.
Since then, a few counties around the nation have experimented with or tried to avoid certifying elections; however, all of those attempts have failed, usually as a result of state courts becoming involved.
Trump praised the three Georgia election board members who voted in favor of the rule modification during a recent rally.
In front of an enthusiastic Georgia crowd on Saturday, the former president said, “I’m not sure whether you’ve heard, but the Georgia State Election [Board] is going really well.” They’re working really well, and they’re on fire. Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King are the three members. Three pit bulls are engaged in a battle for triumph, honesty, and openness. They are squabbling.
What happens if counties decline to certify the findings by the legally mandated deadline is unknown. This year, a week following the election on November 5, counties must certify elections by 5 p.m. on November 12. The deadline for the state to certify is November 22.
Before the vote, Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, stated, “Even though the certification is primarily ceremonial, it’s still got to be done to be processed and if it’s not done there better be a darn good reason.”
Hassinger declared that “they’re going to face serious consequences” if a whole board declined to certify because of conspiracies.
That is precisely what has
occurred in other states where counties have declined to certify. Two supervisors in Cochise County, Arizona, are being charged with felonies for postponing the certification of the election results in 2022.
When Otero County officials in New Mexico first refused to confirm the election results, they sparked conspiracy rumors concerning Dominion voting equipment. Eventually, a state court ordered them to certify the results. Later, out of concern for possible criminal charges and jail time, a county commissioner reversed her vote. The secretary of state for New Mexico told NBC News at the time that the action almost completely eliminated a county’s voting rights.
During a nine-hour meeting of the State Election Board on Tuesday, both opponents and supporters of voting rights presented written and oral testimony, arguing that the change is not supported by Georgia state law. They contended that municipal officials have a great deal of discretion because “reasonable inquiry” affords them greater latitude than the law’s strict standards.
“There are 159 counties in Georgia. Nikhel Sus, an attorney for the left-leaning watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, stated that “Board members may differ on what constitutes reasonableness within the same county, or what is acceptable to one group of members may not be reasonable to another.”
However, the three lawmakers Trump congratulated on Saturday voted in favor of the change following nine hours of debate. The only Democrat on the Board, Sara Tindall Ghazal, along with Chair John Fervier—appointed by Governor Brian Kemp—voted against the regulation. Fervier stated that while he was in favor of the investigation, there needed to be “guardrails.”