Georgia judge rules county election officials must certify election results

A Georgia judge on Tuesday ruled that county election officials may not delay or decline to certify election results based on suspicions of fraud.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in an 11-page ruling that the local officials have a "mandatory fixed obligation" to certify results, rejecting claims by Fulton County election board member Julie Adams.

He emphasized in a footnote that concerns about fraud or systemic error should be shared with the appropriate authorities but are "not a basis" for an official to decline to certify.

"If election superintendents were, as Plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so — because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud — refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced," McBurney wrote. "Our Constitution and our Election Code do not allow for that to happen."

Adams, who voted against certifying Georgia's presidential primary in March, claimed that she was “unable to fulfill her oath of office" after other county officials declined to provide her with scores of election documents she requested ahead of the certification deadline.

"There are no limits placed on this investigation (other than, of course, the immovable deadline for certification, discussed below)," McBurney wrote. "Thus, within a mandatory ministerial task — thou shalt certify! — there are discretionary subtasks. The freedom allowed with the subtasks does not convert the overarching fixed obligation into a discretionary role."

The judge's ruling comes as challenges to the state's election rules are piling up.

Earlier this month, McBurney held a bench trial over two new rules created by Georgia’s State Election Board, which would allow for a “reasonable inquiry” to be conducted before election certification and gives election workers the ability “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.” 

At that hearing, McBurney repeatedly insisted that county officials have no choice but to certify the results of an election. He has not ruled on the matter.

On Tuesday, the judge is set to hear arguments in another lawsuit filed against the State Election Board, this time by Cobb County, Ga.'s election board. It seeks to squash six other rules — one being a controversial requirement to complete a hand-count verification on election night.

A growing number of Republican county election officials have refused to certify election results since 2020; at least 19 county election board members have shirked that duty, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  

Georgia is one of seven critical battleground states expected to determine who wins the White House this fall. Former President Trump won the state in 2016 but lost it by just 11,779 votes to President Biden in 2020.