Georgia election board says counties can do more to investigate election results

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s State Election Board voted Tuesday to require county election officials to make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results to the state, signaling that fights about approving election results could intensify this November in the South’s premier battleground state.

Supporters say the measure is needed because members of county election boards must swear statements that results are accurate and need to be able to adequately assure themselves that the totals are correct before doing so.

“Why one would not want to assume there is some oversight?” asked State Election Board member Janice Johnston, who was appointed the panel by the state Republican Party. “It’s the duty of the board to provide some oversight, in a fair way, in a reasonable way.”

But opponents of the rule say it’s an invitation to create post-election chaos and that the board is defying state law that says that county officials “shall certify” results, as well as more than a century of court precedent finding county officials have little wiggle room on the issue.

”The proposed rule changes will give authority to local election officials to halt the counting of votes and slow down, or even outright refuse certification if they contend there are any irregularities, essentially making the certification of election results discretionary,” said House Minority Whip Sam Park, a Democrat from Lawrenceville. “The key word there is discretionary. This would essentially give partisan county board of elections personal control over Georgia’s election results, allowing them to uphold certifying the election if they disagree with the results.”

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