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Georgia election lawsuit targets state bunker
State Sen. Greg Dolezal is seeking injunctive relief to force Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to allow bipartisan election observers into the state's election night operations center.
ATLANTA - Georgia State Sen. Greg Dolezal filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to secure immediate injunctive relief for poll watchers ahead of Tuesday's primary election.
The legal dispute centers on access to the state's primary election data hub.
Georgia election lawsuit
What we know:
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to force the state to allow poll watchers and state election observers into the election-night operations center, commonly known as "the bunker."
According to Dolezal, Raffensperger's office communicated to the state election board through its chair that observers will not be allowed in the room. The bunker is the central location where the state receives vote totals, verifies them, and uploads them to the Georgia reporting system.
Dolezal stated there is a Democrat and a Republican who want access to the room to observe the process. He added, "This just allows additional transparency and additional confidence."
Operations center access
What we don't know:
It remains unclear if a judge will rule on the emergency injunction before voting concludes on Tuesday. Additionally, the state has not specified the exact security protocols or reasons why the room has been restricted from outside bipartisan board members.
Campaign platform clash
What they're saying:
Raffensperger’s campaign declined an on-camera interview but issued a statement criticizing the lawsuit. The campaign stated:
"For a guy who constantly lectures everyone about election integrity, you’d think Senator Dolezal would know that votes are not counted in the Secretary of State’s Emergency Operations Center," said Raffensperger. "The real fight to safeguard the ballot box happens at the local level - inside county election offices and tabulation centers across Georgia.
"But facts clearly aren’t getting in the way of Dolezal’s desperate search for press attention and votes. So buckle up, Greg. This isn’t my first rodeo. You are about to join Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden, and the New Georgia Project on the long list of people who sued me and lost," Raffensperger added.
Dolezal acknowledged the location of the vote counting but questioned the lack of access.
"The question is: why is the secretary not allowing these bipartisan members of the state election board in the room to observe?" Dolezal said, adding that they want "just to be able to see the process. Sunshine is always good for democracy."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Georgia state legislative records and statements provided to FOX 5 reporter Christopher King, who reviewed the filed lawsuit and obtained direct responses from both the Dolezal and Raffensperger campaigns.