A new rule in Georgia could allow some election boards to refuse to certify results

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A new rule in Georgia could allow some local election boards to refuse to certify results. It's raising concerns ahead of November's crucial elections. WABE's Sam Gringlas reports from Atlanta.

SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE: Certifying an election is usually simple. Local boards confirm the number of voters who cast ballots matches up with the total votes. But when it came to certifying the May primary in Fulton County, one board member refused.

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JULIE ADAMS: It's time to fix the problems in our elections by ensuring compliance with the law, transparency and accuracy and results.

GRINGLAS: Republican Julie Adams said she didn't have enough information to verify the count herself. Her colleagues overruled her, but Adams is one of several local officials in Georgia who declined to certify results this year. That number could grow. The new state rule allows local boards to conduct reasonable inquiry before certifying results. This is Janelle King, a Republican state board member.

JANELLE KING: If I'm going to ask a county election worker to sign their name on a legal document saying this is accurate, when, in fact, they may see that there are some discrepancies, then we're setting them up for failure.

GRINGLAS: But some election experts worry a local board member might refuse to certify if they argue they couldn't conduct that inquiry or say it turned up problems. The secretary of state says refusing to certify would conflict with state law. Sara Tindall Ghazal, the state board's only Democrat, says it's not surprising her colleagues would approve such a rule. Mainstream Republican lawyers have been replaced by more activist appointees driven by distrust in recent elections.

SARA TINDALL GHAZAL: All of our decision-making was driven by our interpretation and application of the law, which is not always going to be the same. Lawyers disagree all the time. Slowly, but surely, the makeup has changed.

GRINGLAS: That shift was highlighted when former President Trump praised the board's three members at a rally.

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DONALD TRUMP: They're on fire. They're doing a great job. Three members - Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King - three people are all pitbulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory. They're fighting.

GHAZAL: When you have partisans openly crowing that their appointees are going to lead to their victory, that undermines public confidence in the process.

GRINGLAS: That's Democrat Sara Tindall Ghazal again. Her Republican colleague Janelle King disagrees.

KING: I don't make decisions based on which side of the aisle wants me to do something. I look at the facts. I look at what's in front of me.

GRINGLAS: Since 2020, efforts to halt certification have cropped up in swing states like Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania. These attempts failed when state officials or courts stepped in. But the Brennan Center's Lauren Miller Karalunas says these moves still cause harm.

LAUREN MILLER KARALUNAS: Even if these refusals aren't successful, each time someone refuses to certify or disrupt certification, it increases distrust when false information is already fueling things like threats and harassment against election officials.

GRINGLAS: And delays could create even more disruption in a presidential election when officials also face tight deadlines for the electoral college.

For NPR News, I'm Sam Gringlas in Atlanta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.