A Georgia judge dismissed a plea from a Fulton County election official who asked the court to confirm she is not obligated to rubber-stamp election results after Democrats threatened her with criminal charges.
Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections (FCBRE) member Julie Adams filed a suit in May seeking clarification about her role after she was legally threatened by the Democratic Party of Georgia for not certifying the results of the March presidential preference primary. Adams alleges she was within her right to refuse to certify the results of the primary after she was allegedly “denied … access to essential election materials and processes.”
Judge Robert C.I. McBurney dismissed the challenge on Monday, ruling that Adams made a procedural error in her filing but left the door open for Adams to refile her suit.
“Plaintiff’s claims are not forfeited; they are merely dismissed — for now. This action is done, but there can be another. Plaintiff can refile, name the correct party, and we will pick up where we left off, likely with all the same lawyers and certainly with the same substantive arguments,” McBurney ruled.
“If Plaintiff moves with alacrity, the merits of her claim that the role of an election superintendent — in particular when certifying the results of an election — is discretionary rather than ministerial can still be considered alongside the related claims set forth in Abhiraman et al. v. State Board of Elections … . This may seem like an unnecessary drill,
