A Republican official in the crucial presidential battleground of Georgia is appealing a judge’s order that she and other election leaders in the state’s most populous county must vote to certify results by the deadline set in law.
Julie Adams — a member of the election board in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta and is a Democratic stronghold — had filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that her duties as an election board member were discretionary and that she is entitled to “full access” to “election materials.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled this month that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”
Adams filed a notice of appeal Wednesday to the Georgia Court of Appeals over the part of McBurney’s order that says she “is required to vote in favor of certifying the election results by the deadline,” according to the filing. She also disputes McBurney’s assertion that the appropriate venue for her to voice concerns is an election challenge in the courts.
Georgia law says county election superintendents — generally multimember boards — shall certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday after an election, or the Tuesday after if Monday is a holiday, as it is this year. That puts this year’s general election deadline at Nov. 12.
