I am deeply disturbed by the state election board’s late-breaking rule changes — and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Democrat. No, Republicans should be outraged too. The actions of the three board members who supported the rule changes fly in the face of core conservative principles: local control, small government, restraint and respect for the rule of law. Georgians should stand together in condemning these crooked changes.
On paper, conservatives favor limited government. In fact, if you visit Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s website, limited government is counted among the “7 Core Principles of Conservatism.” It’s listed at No. 2 — second only to individual freedom. According to the explanation given, limited government is all about ideas like “decentralized authority” and the “elimination of unnecessary regulations and bureaucracy.” In other words: local control and small government.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
With that in mind, it’s easy to see just how incongruent the rule changes are with basic conservative ideology. Though the hand-count rule was proposed by a Fayette County election board member, the three Trump-aligned board members knew that all of the state’s county election directors opposed it. But instead of respecting the authority of those local leaders, they ignored it to score political Brownie points.
Restraint is typically discussed in legal contexts, but we can apply it here by analogy. Judges who adhere to the concept of judicial restraint are motivated by a belief that they should not allow their political beliefs to guide their decision-making. Since the civil rights era, the philosophy has been most closely associated with the conservative movement. Like a true conservative judge, true conservatives on the state election board would have recognized that their job was not to make law. They would have shown restraint and deference to the legislature. They would have voted against these rule changes.
Respect for the rule of law is another one of Johnson’s core conservative principles. His website describes it as the “foundation” of our government. Well, conservative state Attorney General Chris Carr made clear what the law had to say about these rule changes. Before the vote, his office sent a letter cautioning that the hand-count rule was likely illegal: “the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.” At that point, one would think the matter would have been settled. Ideology aside, it is generally a good idea to follow the guidance of the state’s top law enforcement officer. But when that person is a conservative and you are a conservative too, voting against his legal determination just seems inexplicable.
It is telling that the Kemp-appointed chair of the election board did not vote for any of the proposed rule changes. In fact, he is on the record as having said, “If the Legislature had wanted this, they would have put it in statute. You can’t read any place in statute where this is. This board is not here to make law.” His quote perfectly encapsulates the restraint, deference and respect for the rule of law that you’d expect from a true conservative. Georgia’s conservative secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, also came out against the rule change, calling the proposed hand-count rule a “misguided” effort “outside of the legislative process.” His sentiments further foreclose any reasonable arguments that voting for the new rules was the conservative thing to do.
Then why did these three officials vote in favor of the rule changes? It’s helpful to consider that these state-led efforts aren’t just happening in Georgia. Instead, they are part of a startling pattern occurring nationwide. Over the past couple of years, MAGA Republicans — distinct from true conservatives in that they follow former President Donald Trump instead of the Constitution — in states like Tennessee, Mississippi and Ohio have been taking steps to actively undermine principles like local control, small government and even democracy. The Tennessee General Assembly went as far as to override local police reforms seemingly because they disagreed with them. Here, the underlying “why” seems simple: These three MAGA loyalists wish to change the rules as polls show an increasingly close race in Georgia between Trump, the Republican nominee for president, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president. Trump’s cronies will try anything to help him secure a win — or to help sow doubt in a loss.
The former president asked our election officials to “find 11,780 votes” after he lost Georgia four years ago. It didn’t work. This time around, he’s getting a head start on his scavenger hunt. At this polarizing time in our politics, Friday’s news should unite Georgians across the political spectrum. I call on conservatives in particular to speak up and rebuke this decision for the dangerous precedent it sets.
Gevin Reynolds, a law student and Georgia native, writes about issues of law, democracy and politics. Follow him on X @GevinReynolds.
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