Protecting Local Election Integrity from Partisan Interference
In Georgia, the state is now allowed to order a performance review of local election boards and disband them, reinstalling whomever they see fit, if they can prove any election "mismanagement."
This provision (SB 202) will be applied for the first time against Fulton County this fall. The order comes from Georgia’s Republican leadership at the state level and will investigate an area that voted 73% Democrat in the 2020 election.
Though the performance review will likely settle into dust like other county and state wide audits in recent months, it begs the question—how do we keep elections secure if partisan state government meddles in the nonpartisan management of elections at the local level?
As Free Citizens, we are concerned that this may be an instance of government overreach motivated by partisan gain. Maintaining the integrity and honesty of American elections is of the utmost importance, and there are better ways to ensure continued election protocol compliance across the state of Georgia.