ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the State Election Board has overstepped its legal authority.
“What they did is they went past state law, and you cannot supersede state law,” Raffensperger said.
On Friday, the Election Board voted to require hand counting of ballots at every voting precinct in the state.
The first legal challenge to Friday’s decision is already being filed.
The plaintiff in one of two lawsuits already underway against the Election Board told Gray he is amending that legal complaint to include Friday’s votes.
“Unelected people should not be making the law. And it’s very clear the state election board has violated the principle of separation of powers by engaging in rulemaking that has the effect of law,” former GOP state Rep. Scot Turner said.
Turner now leads a conservative group called Eternal Vigilance Action that is suing the Election Board in Fulton Superior Court.
Along with Turner’s lawsuit, a separate suit has been filed by the state and national Democratic parties. That lawsuit also alleges the Election Board has overstepped its authority.
A bench trial in that case is set for Oct. 1 in Judge Robert McBurney’s courtroom in Fulton County.
Attorney General Chris Carr’s office warned the election board in a letter before they voted that they could be going beyond their legal mandate, writing that the “proposed rules are not tethered to any statute.”
“If this board votes to implement this rule, I think we put ourselves in legal jeopardy,” Board Chairman John Fervier said before the 3-2 vote.
He and the lone Democratic member of the board Sara Tindall Ghazal voted against the rule change.
“Every time you make a statement that this could be against the law, you are welcoming lawsuits,” countered board member Janelle King.
The three-member majority were all appointed by the General Assembly. Gray asked King about the Attorney General’s recommendation.
“It’s an opinion and I respect the opinion. But an opinion doesn’t mean that we have to take it,” King said.
When the General Assembly rewrote Georgia election law after the 2020 election, they removed the Secretary of State from the role of chairman of the election board.
However, the General Counsel in his office did provide a legal opinion to the board on the rules. Agreeing with the AG that they were in violation of Georgia law.
“These actions that they’re taking will delay what happens on Election Day and those results get reported. And we don’t think that’s healthy for our republic,” Raffensperger said.