A Fulton County election board member has filed another lawsuit seeking documents she says she needs to certify the results of Tuesday’s election.
Board member Julie Adams says county election officials have denied her the documents in violation of a recent judge’s order. The judge ruled Adams is entitled to prompt review of information not protected from disclosure by law.
The new lawsuit is the latest skirmish in a battle over the duties of local election board members in Georgia. Some Republicans — including Adams — have said they have the discretion not to certify elections if they have reason to question the results.
Democrats, voting rights groups, a Fulton County judge and others say local board members are required to certify results and that their job is merely to tally the results and leave fraud investigations to law enforcement and the courts. They fear the push for discretionary certification is part of an effort to overturn the results if former President Donald Trump loses in Georgia this year.
A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found at least 19 local board members across the state have voted not to certify elections since 2020.
Adams has been at the center of the debate. She voted not to certify the results of the May primary election, saying she had not received the documents needed to ensure the results are accurate. She filed a lawsuit seeking access to more documents and asking the court to declare her duties discretionary.
In that lawsuit, Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that certification is mandatory. He said Adams is entitled to review documents promptly. But he said any delay is not a legal justification for refusing to certify.
On Wednesday the Fulton election board approved a list of documents that members will review before certifying the results of next week’s election. It’s the same list the board used for other elections this year.
But Adams wanted more — including daily lists of complaints from election workers, observers and voters. She also wanted electronic copies of all documents. The board denied her request, citing security concerns about electronic records and the burden on staff of producing daily complaint reports.
Adams filed a new lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court Thursday. It says the board and Election Director Nadine Williams violated McBurney’s order by refusing to provide her all the documents she wants to review.
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