Georgia election board rolls back some actions after a lawsuit claimed its meeting was illegal

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia State Election Board, which has become embroiled in conflict over how the state administers elections, voted Tuesday to redo some of its actions amid a lawsuit accusing it of meeting illegally.

The board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to debate again on Aug. 6 a pair of proposed rules sought by Republicans that three members advanced on July 12, including allowing more poll watchers to view ballot counting and requiring counties to provide the number of ballots received each day during early voting.

American Oversight, a liberal-leaning watchdog group, sued the board over the July 12 meeting where only board members Dr. Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King were present. Democratic member Sara Tindall Ghazal was missing, as was nonpartisan board chair John Fervier,

The suit alleged the board broke Georgia law on posting notice for a public meeting. It also alleged that at least three board members were required to physically be in the room, invalidating the meeting because Johnston joined remotely.

King had argued it was merely a continuation of the July 9 meeting and was properly noticed.

The board also voted to confirm new rules that it advanced on July 9 when all five members were present. Those measures have already been posted for public comment. They could be finalized by the board on Aug. 19, after a 30-day comment period.

One of those proposed rules would let county election board members review a broad array of materials before certifying election totals. Critics worry board members could refuse to certify until they study all of the documents, which could delay finalization of statewide results, especially after some county election board members have refused to certify recent