The Fulton County Board of Commissioners refused to appoint two election critics nominated by the county Republican Party on Wednesday, despite a court order requiring them to do so.
The commission, in a 2-2 vote along party lines, failed to approve the GOP nominations, even though Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson told the Democratic-controlled board state law required them to do so.
“No political party can compel me to vote any particular way,” said Commissioner Dana Barrett, a Democrat. “We’re elected by the people, and I’m going to represent the people of my district.”
The commission needed at least four votes in support of the GOP nominees to appoint them to the election board. The Board of Commissioners has seven seats split between five Democrats and two Republicans. Democratic Commissioners Marvin Arrington Jr., Robb Pitts and Khadijah Abdur-Rahman were absent at the time of the vote on Wednesday.
In his order last week, Emerson wrote that if the commissioners refused to appoint the two GOP nominees at their Wednesday board meeting, he would consider holding them in contempt. The Georgia Court of Appeals denied a request to stay Emerson’s ruling on Monday while the case is under appeal.
In May, commissioners rejected the nominees in a 5-2 vote, citing concerns about their qualifications and past actions questioning election results and registrations. Following the vote, the Republican Party sued the county to compel commissioners to accept the nominations.
Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon called Wednesday’s vote “outrageous” in a post on X.
“A Petition for Contempt of Judge Emerson’s Order should be filed immediately and I hope the Judge will consider not only a fine but jail time for the unlawful defiance of a lawful court order!” he wrote.
Commissioners Mo Ivory and Barrett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they stand by their decisions, even if that means facing fines or jail time.
“If that means I have to risk jail, then so be it,” Barrett said.
The nominees include Julie Adams, an incumbent election board member who voted against certifying last year’s primary election, and Jason Frazier, who has lodged thousands of voter registration challenges in Fulton, a Democratic stronghold.
The Fulton GOP also sued when the county rejected Frazier’s nomination in 2023. The party withdrew its lawsuit after nominating a different election board member.
County election boards are responsible for running and certifying elections, setting polling locations and determining voter eligibility challenges.
Separate from the legal fight over their appointments to the board, the nominees have been in their own election-related legal disputes.
Adams and at least 18 other members of election boards around the state refused to certify the results of elections conducted from 2020 to 2024. But no member of an election board in Georgia refused to confirm President Donald Trump’s victory last fall after a court ruling that found certification is mandatory. Adams was the lead plaintiff in that lawsuit.
Frazier filed another lawsuit against the county elections board last year, alleging Fulton violated state and federal laws by failing to routinely remove ineligible voters from its rolls. He voluntarily withdrew the case a month later.
The Fulton election board has five members. The chair is chosen by the commission, and two Republicans and two Democrats are nominated by their respective parties and appointed by the commissioners.
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