Appeals court throws out Fulton Election Board fine

ATLANTA - The Georgia Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s ruling that found the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in contempt. The original dispute centered on the commission's refusal to appoint two Republican nominees to the Fulton County Board of Elections.

What we know:

With this new ruling, the court also reversed a $10,000-a-day fine that had been imposed on the commission for failing to seat Jason Frazier and Julie Adams. Both had been nominated by the Fulton County Republican Party to serve on the elections board.

Those fines began accruing in August after a judge ruled that commissioners were required to appoint the specific members nominated by the party. However, the appeals court disagreed, stating that is not the case. Instead, the court found that commissioners have the power to veto appointments, at which point the party would need to nominate different individuals for consideration.'

What they're saying:

"Because the Commissioners were acting within their own lawful and discretionary authority when they declined to seat the BRE nominees at issue, we reverse the trial court’s grant of a writ of mandamus as an abuse of that court’s discretion," the ruling stated.

The backstory:

Democratic board members have previously expressed opposition to seating Frazier and Adams. Adams is currently on the board but was up for reappointment. Opponents have cited accusations surrounding the 2020 election and the legitimacy of the outcome in Fulton County as the reason for their stance.

Local perspective:

The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections consists of five members: a chair, two Democratic nominees, and two Republican nominees.