The State Court of Appeals has ruled Certification of election results in Georgia is a mandatory duty of local elections officials – not a discretionary decision.
The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration who refused to certify the results of last year’s presidential primary and maintained she had the legal authority to do so. The appellate court ruling upheld a lower-court decision Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued last October.
Monday’s appellate court decision came nearly a month after the Georgia Supreme Court invalidated four of seven controversial rules changes the Republican-controlled State Election Board (SEB) passed shortly before last November’s elections. The justices ruled unanimously that board members exceeded their rulemaking authority under the Georgia Constitution.