State Election Board remains at odds with Fulton County over monitors

(The Center Square) – The Georgia State Election Board voted Monday to subpoena Fulton County records of the 2020 elections from Fulton County election officials.

The Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections has sued the state board over its insistence that its elections be monitored, according to reports.

Dr. Janice Johnston moved the motion to subpoena the records after saying Fulton County had not complied with an order from the board to hire monitors or answered other questions.

“The State Election Board reached out to Fulton County multiple times, attempting to establish an acceptable monitoring team,” Johnston said. “Fulton County has failed to comply with that decision.”

Chairman John Fervier said Fulton County officials and the secretary of state’s office had accepted a monitoring team, but the board has not, despite having multiple meetings.

“This board has not had an up or down vote yet on which team and the alternative team, the members have changed a couple of times,” Fervier said.

Board member Janelle King said there was supposed to be an agreement by July and questioned why Fervier had not brought up the issue before placing the blame on Fulton County.

“We were giving them ample opportunity to correct their mistake, and they refused to do it,” King said. “Here we are again asking them for a response from the list that we provided them and instead they’re filing some weird lawsuit that they feel is necessary to avoid us.”

Fulton County said in its lawsuit that it had agreed to a team led by a former staff attorney for the secretary of state and members of The Carter Center, according to CNN. The county is challenging the board’s authority to pick the monitors.

“Make no bones about it,” Johnston said during the meeting. “This state election board will not support that team and will not consider their findings valid when they present them, whenever that may be.”

Several Georgia residents questioned the security of the elections.

“We have a crisis in Georgia of bloated and unverifiable voter roles of trust that our election processes are efficient and transparent or that basic laws of our elections process are being followed,” Lisa Rutherford said during public testimony.

Dr. Michael Beach, an assistant poll manager, said the board’s actions are sowing “fear and confusion” in poll workers.

“They are unclear about what rules will be in place due to these court challenges,” Beach said. “The petitioners have gotten what they wanted. They have sown confusion in a system to be tested in less than month. Then they will point to mistakes made as evidence the system is broken.”