The Republican Party is trying to install voter challengers and election cynics on metro Atlanta election boards, an attempt to put conservative activists in power over a system they distrust.
Voting rights groups and Democrats called the nominees “far right” extremists who would undermine confidence in elections in Fulton and DeKalb counties.
The Democrat-controlled Fulton County Commission in May voted along party lines to reject the GOP’s nominees. That led the Georgia Republican Party to sue earlier this month contending the commission is required to accept the party’s choices.
The fight caught the attention of the Trump administration, when Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon retweeted a post calling the county “a cesspool of Democrat corruption.”
Meanwhile in DeKalb County, the Republican Party nominated two people who have challenged the eligibility of hundreds of voter registrations. The decision on whether to accept their nominations will be made by the county’s chief Superior Court judge.
Local election boards play an important role in the voting process, tasked with running elections, setting voting locations, deciding voter eligibility challenges and certifying results.
In both Fulton and DeKalb, the Republican and Democratic parties nominate representatives for four out of five seats on the election boards, which are then confirmed or rejected by the county commission or chief judge. The tiebreaking fifth seat in Fulton was nominated by the commission chairman and in DeKalb by the other four members.
‘An egregious precedent’
Fulton Commissioner Marvin Arrington, a Democrat, said he had a responsibility to oppose the Republican Party’s nominees: Jason Frazier, who has challenged the eligibility of thousands of voter registrations, and Julie Adams, an incumbent election board member who voted against certifying last year’s primary election.
“The buck stops here,” Arrington said before voting down their nominations last month. “The Republican Party ought to take a look at their people and not nominate people that are on the far right, and nominate people that are in the center.”
Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon said Fulton is denying Republican representation on the county election board. The existing Republican appointees to the board will continue to serve until their replacements are confirmed.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
“In an act of pure political opportunism, the Democrats on the Fulton Board of Commissioners have repeatedly and openly denied the right of the Fulton Republican Party to appoint members of their choosing to the county Board of Elections,” McKoon said.
“This is an egregious precedent that could spread to other counties throughout Georgia and further desecrates the already faded confidence in our voting process.”
After several Republican election board members across Georgia refused to certify results — including in Fulton and DeKalb — since President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, all of them signed off on Trump’s win last year following a court ruling that certification is mandatory.
Adams was the plaintiff in the lawsuit over election certification, and an appeal is pending.
Efforts to appoint election critics erode trust in voting procedures, said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Charlie Bailey.
“Following their egregious attempts last year to deny election results, ram through dangerous last-minute rule changes, and bring bogus mass voter challenges, it’s clear that Julie Adams and Jason Frazier cannot be entrusted to safeguard free, fair elections for Fulton County voters,” Bailey said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
The Georgia Republican Party also sued the last time Fulton rejected Frazier’s nomination two years ago. The party withdrew its lawsuit after nominating a different election board member, Michael Heekin.
Frazier and Adams didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
“It is time to fix the corruption in Fulton County via this lawsuit,” Frazier wrote on X. “It is also critical to strengthen and standardize this legislation statewide so other rotten counties cannot follow Fulton’s games as they typically do.”
Republicans in DeKalb County nominated Bill Henderson and Gail Lee, who have challenged the eligibility of voter registrations based on allegations that they moved from Georgia, registered at business addresses or haven’t voted in more than a decade.
Both sides have been making their case.
“Mr. Henderson and Ms. Lee, by their own admission, have challenged these hundreds … of voters they do not know, a blatant attack on universal franchise, a cornerstone of our Constitution,” wrote Melissa Manrow, president of the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County, in a letter to the chief judge.
In addition, Henderson has sued over the DeKalb election board’s policy not to consider voter eligibility challenges within 90 days of an election. Lee told CBS in 2023 that she believes Trump won the 2020 election, though recounts, audits and investigations have upheld the results.
Kendra Biegalski, who leads the DeKalb Republican Party, said Henderson and Lee shouldn’t be characterized as election deniers who are trying to target voters.
“They really are such dedicated people when it comes to election integrity, and it’s not that they want to disenfranchise any legal voter,” Biegalski said. “It is in everyone’s best interest to have the most correct data in our voter registration database because even one ballot misused will disenfranchise a legal voter.”
Henderson and Lee didn’t return phone messages seeking comment.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
