Voting rights groups sounded alarms on Wednesday after Georgia election officials voted to investigate the election's management in Fulton County—a step that could bring the Republican-led state closer to overseeing elections in the heavily Democratic county.
Fair Fight Action—the Atlanta-based organization that helped turn out Democratic voters in the state last year—noted that under Georgia's sweeping new voter suppression law, which was passed in March, the Republican-controlled election board selected the county with the most voters of color in the state to appoint its first investigatory panel.
"Fulton voters deserve better," tweeted Fair Fight Action, which was founded in 2018 by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
"It is not surprising that the Republican-controlled General Assembly has targeted Fulton County, Georgia's largest county and home to the greatest number of voters of color in the state."
—Fair Fight Action
The bipartisan panel will have 90 days to issue a written report about the county's election results, long lines, and reports that some voters did not receive their absentee ballots. The report could give the state election board the authority to appoint a temporary superintendent to oversee vote counting and polling place operations in Fulton County.
President Joe Biden overwhelmingly won the election in Georgia, and the tally was subjected to three recounts—by machine and by hand—as former President Donald Trump and other Republicans claimed the results were fraudulent. A state election monitor found that no fraud had taken place.
State Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat who is running for attorney general in Georgia, called the move "dangerous" and "legally dubious."
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Julia Conley.
Julia Conley | Radio Free (2021-08-18T18:38:46+00:00) GOP State Officials Take Step Toward Overseeing Elections in Georgia’s Heavily Democratic Fulton County. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2021/08/18/gop-state-officials-take-step-toward-overseeing-elections-in-georgias-heavily-democratic-fulton-county/
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