The left seems to have no moral qualms about gaslighting as a political strategy, so the Democrat-led campaign falsely accusing Georgia State Election Board members of interfering with the state’s law on certification is unsurprising. But the left’s misleading narrative around certification doesn’t just place Republican election officials in an unfair light, it could also undermine well-established Georgia election law and disrupt another presidential election.
On Aug. 19, the Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 in favor of a rule that clarifies the process of a complete election canvass. A complete canvass under current Georgia law requires ballot reconciliation to take place before certification, and the proposed rule reiterates that requirement, to the dismay of Democrats. Georgia code expressly states that counties must “compare the registration figure with the certificates returned by the poll officers showing the number of persons who voted in each precinct or the number of ballots cast” before the recording of votes. The law also requires that discrepancies arising during ballot reconciliation be investigated and addressed before the recording of votes.
On Aug. 6, the board also voted to adopt a rule that defined certification as something that happens after election officials conduct a “reasonable inquiry.” This can be assumed by existing Georgia law because the election code already requires election officials to confirm the completion of basic procedures like ballot reconciliation. Like the rule reiterating what constitutes a complete canvass, this rule also did nothing to challenge the certification deadline.
Ballot reconciliation, investigation, observation, and
