Democrats sue Georgia election board over changes passed by officials under investigation and possible removal

Democrats sued the Georgia election board over changes passed by officials who are now under investigation.

Three allies of former President Donald Trump on the State Election Board proposed new changes to state electoral law, allowing more stringent treatment of ballot counting and electoral certification. The three were hit by an ethics complaint from Fulton County's former elections board chief, pushing the Democrats to argue that the ethics inquiry should be looked into before the new measures were passed. They also argued that the board members should be removed.

“These novel requirements introduce substantial uncertainty in the postelection process and — if interpreted as their drafters have suggested — invite chaos by establishing new processes at odds with existing statutory duties,” the lawsuit said about the proposed electoral changes.

The lawsuit was filed by the Democratic National Party, Georgia Democratic Party, local officials, and political candidates, with the support of Vice President Kamala Harris's election campaign.

Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA), chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, latched on to Trump's praise of the three State Election Board officials as his "pit bulls" in a statement in favor of the lawsuit.

“The three members Donald Trump called his ‘pit bulls’ for ‘victory’ disagree, and they’re determined to establish a new power of not certifying an election result should their preferred candidate lose — as he did in 2020,” she said, the New York Times reported .

The move to change the electoral rules shortly before the 2024 election was even met with criticism from some Republicans, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

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“Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” he said in a statement obtained by the outlet. “Misguided attempts by the State Election Board will delay election results and undermine chain of custody safeguards. Georgia voters reject this 11th-hour chaos, and so should the unelected members of the State Election Board.”

Gov. Brian Kemp's (R-GA) office looks to be taking the lawsuit seriously. Kemp told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement that he was seeking advice from the state attorney general as to whether he had the authority to remove the three board members.