Election board members are elected to oversee elections. As part of that job, Julie Adams, a member of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections board, asked for access to election data before certifying the results of the state’s March presidential preference primary. According to Adams, the elections director refused to provide that information, so without all those facts in front of her, Adams did not vote to certify the election.
Ten days later, the Democrat Party of Georgia sent a letter to Adams and the rest of the board threatening that she could be subject to criminal charges for her decision.
The letter warned Adams and other board members they should “approve certification of Fulton County’s election results going forward, and in particular for the remaining elections that will be held in 2024, to avoid unnecessary legal challenges and disputes.”
Adams filed a complaint requesting emergency relief and contending that, as a board member, she is within her rights to withhold certification of an election when she has not been given access to election data and material needed to fulfill certification duties.
Filed the day after Georgia’s May primary, Adam’s complaint urged the court to rule quickly because, “based on her current lack of access to Election Materials and Processes, Plaintiff will be unable to fulfil her statutory duties to certify the accuracy of the May 21, 2024, Primary Election.” With the case still unresolved, Adams declined to certify the May election.
Instead of quickly putting to rest the idea that
