If the 2024 Election comes down to a few thousands votes in Georgia, local election boards could have a major impact on final results. According to new rules passed by the five-person Georgia Election Board, local election boards can now withhold the certification of a vote over unspecified discrepancies.
The rule was passed by a 3-2 vote, led by the three Republican board members, Dr. Janice Johnson, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King. Days before the vote, the three were praised by Donald Trump during his rally in Atlanta. Johnson was in attendance at the rally which could be viewed as a conflict of interest.
The new rule could cause a delay in the certification of the election in a large Georgia county if one board member called for an investigation into equipment or administration of the vote. It allows board members to exercise their discretion of “reasonable inquiry” to withhold voter certifications.
According to Georgia law, county election boards must vote on certifying election results within six days after Election Day. The Georgia Secretary of State must verify the statewide results for the upcoming presidential election by Nov. 22.
The new rule could cause chaos in November as it allows local election board members to request insight from election supervisors and staff to base their decision to sign off on the vote count. Or, they could refuse to certify the election results.
Organizations such as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Fair Fight Action, the ACLU of Georgia, Common Cause Georgia, and Public Rights Project are all against the new rules which could lead to issues in November.
“Stability and consistency in election rules are crucial to maintaining the integrity of our democratic process. True Election Integrity would be not allowing the ‘Big Lie’ to change election rules and procedures,” Attorney Gerald Griggs wrote on a social media post following the new ruling.
The new rules could also allow certain counties to illegally attempt to sway results in the favor of Donald Trump.
During the 2020 election, Trump allegedly attempted to steal the election in Georgia, according to a RICO case presented by Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis.
The RICO case centers around the 2020 election probe when Trump asked former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger during a phone call to help him secure over 11,000 votes, the amount in which he trailed Joe Biden in Georgia.
During a recorded call that took place on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump told Raffensperger, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”
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