A judge in a key battleground state has ruled that county election officials must certify results by the legal deadline even if they suspect fraud or mistakes.
Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney of Fulton County, Georgia, ruled that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”
The officials do have the right to investigate their concerns about the vote count and to review related documents, McBurney wrote, but “any delay in receiving such information is not a basis for refusing to certify the election results or abstaining from doing so.”
The ruling was handed down the same day Peach State residents head to the polls for early in-person voting, which runs from Oct. 15 through Nov. 1.
The suit was filed by Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections member Julie Adams and backed by America First Policy Institute, a conservative group aligned with former President Donald Trump.
Adams had voted against certifying the presidential primary results in May. She then sued the Fulton County elections board, arguing she was not able to fulfill her duties as a superintendent after a documents request was denied, and that she was within her rights to not certify the results.
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2024 Election
