Georgia governor inquires whether he can remove MAGA election board members after series of alarming votes

Georgia’s governor has asked his attorney general if he can remove state election board members after three right-wing members approved a series of alarming new rules.

Republican Governor Brian Kemp asked Attorney General Christopher Carr for “guidance” on whether he can remove members of the state election board, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

This comes after three right-wing members of the five-person board championed and passed a series of new rules that add extra requirements for county election boards to certify their results.

Under the rules passed this month — less than 100 days before election day on November 5 — county boards must make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying the election. However, the rules do not define what an inquiry should involve or what “reasonable” means, according to the Journal-Constitution.

County election boards are also required to hold a meeting to verify their vote count on the Friday after election day, which is before the ballot return deadline for voters overseas and in the military.

The three right-wing members - Janelle King, Rick Jeffares and Janice Johnston - were recently praised by Donald Trump for championing new rules. The former president called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

Trump has beem charged in Fulton County, Georgia, alongside his former attorney Rudy Giuliani and others with election interference charges. Trump has claimed that he lost Georgia to President Joe Biden due to widespread election fraud - which there is no evidence of.

Representative Lucy McBath, a Democrat, called the board’s new rules a “concerted effort to subvert democracy and move us backward.”

“With passing this new rule, they are creating barriers to counting votes and certifying the elections so Donald Trump can once again attempt to throw our country into chaos,” she said.

The Democratic Party has sued to challenge the rules, arguing that they could delay certification and lead to disputes over the vote.

Kamala Harris’s campaign endorsed the lawsuit.

“For months, MAGA Republicans in Georgia and across the country have been trying to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results when they lose again in November,” deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said in a statement.

“Certifying an election is not a choice, it’s the law,” he added. “A few unelected extremists can’t just decide not to count your vote. That’s why we have won case after case in court, fending off MAGA efforts to chip away at our democracy. We will win this case, too, and keep fighting so that every eligible voter can confidently cast their vote knowing it will count.”

At least 19 election officials across Georgia have refused to verify various election results since 2020. King, one of the three right-wing board members who advocated for the new rules, dismissed criticisms against them.

“I’m going to continue to do what’s right and let the Democrats play the political games,” King told the Atlanta newspaper. “There’s nothing we’re doing that will impact certification. If they have the proper information needed to certify, you won’t see them even attempt to delay certification.”

In a statement to The Independent, King said her focus was solely “on facts, not theories” and claimed that critics are distracting “from the important work that is being done.”

“Ensuring that every County election board member has access to all election-related documentation actually strengthens the certification process,” King told The Independent. “By being fully informed, board members are better equipped to certify with confidence, knowing they have all necessary information to support their decisions.”

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon also said the rule changes are “common sense rules that ensure election integrity,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“In no way do these rule changes interfere with anyone’s right to vote or cause undue burdens on election workers, but these steps will ensure transparency, accountability, accurate reporting and reconciliation,” McKoon added.

The Independent has contacted Jeffares and Johnston for comment.

Editor’s Note: The headline of this story has been updated to correct that Kemp asked his attorney general if he can remove state election board members, and did not demand their removal. This article was updated again on August 27 to include King’s statement.