Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won’t be required to testify during an election security trial this month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The appeals court shielded Raffensperger from having to take the stand to answer questions about Georgia’s voting system and a breach in Coffee County in January 2021.
High-ranking officials such as Raffensperger aren’t compelled to testify about their reasons for taking official actions unless there are “extraordinary circumstances,” according to the decision by a three-judge panel.
“The plaintiffs have not identified any information that is both essential to their claims and that cannot be gleaned from other witnesses,” the three-page ruling states. “Although the plaintiffs point to public statements the secretary has made about the litigation, the secretary’s public statements do not in themselves create an extraordinary circumstance that requires his personal testimony.”
The trial, which begins Tuesday, will test whether Georgia’s voting technology infringes on fundamental voting rights. Georgia’s election equipment, manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems, relies on touchscreens that print out paper ballots.
Plaintiffs in the case allege that programming errors or hacks could change election results, but state election officials say the voting equipment is safe and trustworthy.
Without Raffensperger, other election officials could testify. Potential witnesses for the state include Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling, State Elections Director Blake Evans and members of the State Election Board, according to court filings.
The three judges on the 11th Circuit panel, all of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump, overturned U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg, an appointee of President Barack Obama who had ordered Raffensperger to testify. On the panel were Circuit Judges Andrew Brasher, Robert Luck and Kevin Newsom.
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