Fulton County must confirm Republican election board nominees, judge rules

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A Fulton County judge has ruled the county's Board of Commissioners must confirm the Republican nominees to its Board of Elections.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson said there is no law that allows commissioners to veto Jason Frazier and Julie Adams' nominations.

The backstory:

The Georgia Republican Party sued the commission in June, saying that Fulton County officials violated state law by not confirming Frazier and Adams as its nominees to the board.

Under Georgia law, the commission is required to appoint two people from the political parties that received the largest number of votes in the state - those being the Republicans and Democrats.

However, the lawsuit alleged that the Board of Commissioners voted instead to pass motions to table Frazier and Adams's nominations, despite them qualifying for the positions under the county's regulations.

"I think the Republican Party ought to take a look at their people and not nominate people that are in [sic] the far right, and nominate people that are in the center. … But if y’all present some people that are in the center, they can get approved," the lawsuit quotes Commissioner Marvin S. Arrington, Jr. as saying during the meeting.

What they're saying:

In his findings, Emerson said that Adams and Frazier were both eligible to be nominated to the board, arguing that they were both electors, residents of Fulton County, and not candidates for any office.

"This court notes the failure to make these appointments leaves the two slots of one of the two political parties vacant when their term should have begun on July 1, 2025," he wrote. "The courts finds the lack of these appointments harms the election process and deprives the nominating party of representation on the BOE."

Emerson also found that the Board of Commissioners does not have the discretion to disapprove "an otherwise qualified nominee." 

Dig deeper:

Adams is currently a member of the board and controversially argued in 2024 that she should be allowed to withhold certification of the county's election if she believed the results were incorrect or unreliable. 

Following her lawsuit, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that "no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance."

Last month, a Georgia appeals court upheld McBurney's ruling, saying county election officials in the Peach State must vote to certify results according to deadlines set in law.

She had previously refused to certify the May 2024 primary election results, raising questions about election procedures.