Georgia board takes step toward possible takeover of Atlanta-area elections

Georgia’s Republican-controlled State Election Board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a bipartisan review panel to investigate the handling of elections in the state’s most populous county.

The vote serves as another step toward a potential state takeover of elections in Fulton County, which includes the city of Atlanta.

“It is both my hope and expectation that the members of the review board who have been nominated today will take their jobs very seriously and will engage in the review with the singular goal in mind,” election board member Sara Tindall Ghazal said, NBC reported.

Fulton County delivered major wins for Democrats during the 2020 election, playing a large role in President Biden winning the state and helping to elect two Democratic senators in runoff elections in January. Republicans have since zeroed in on voting procedures in the county.

Republican lawmakers in the state asked for the board to implement a review panel last month to ensure that Fulton County election officials have been following state voting laws, according to NBC.

The takeover provision in the state’s sweeping new election law enacted in March allows lawmakers who represent a given county to request a performance review of local election officials. Democrats and voting rights advocates argue that the takeover provision can be used for political interference in elections, according to The Associated Press.

The review should take about 90 days from the time of the request to be completed and will be followed by a preliminary hearing. The state board has the power to suspend Fulton County’s board if it finds evidence that officials violated state election rules three times since 2018 and have not amended for those violations, according to the AP.