Peach Tree Times

Earlier this week, Georgia’s State Elections Board (SEB) held virtual meetings and passed new rules that could potentially delay the certification of election results in the 2024 election. The SEB has been proposing changes to Georgia’s election certification process, which has been trusted by voters for years.

The newly passed rules include provisions that grant Board of Election members greater discretion to delay election certification without requiring proof of inaccurate results. This rule was authored by Fulton Board member Michael Heekin. Another rule, proposed by Cobb County GOP Chair Salleigh Grubbs, introduces stringent and potentially ambiguous reporting and reconciliation requirements that could significantly threaten counties’ ability to certify election results.

Jay Young, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, expressed concerns about these changes: “These new rules would allow election board members to compromise the will of Georgia voters simply based on their own gut feeling instead of facts.”

Young emphasized the integrity of Georgia's existing election process: “Let’s be clear: Our election process in Georgia is and has always been safe and secure. These newly passed rules only tarnish the public’s trust in our elections and cast doubt on the results. If implemented, these rules could unnecessarily delay certification and threaten our free and fair democracy."

He further stated that making such changes at this stage would create administrative burdens for local election officials and lead to chaos and confusion among voters. “These proposals have nothing to do with election integrity; instead, they threaten to interfere with critical, final, administrative steps in the election process. These rules are simply trying to create solutions to problems that don’t exist,” Young concluded.