Georgia judge rules election officials can’t delay certification due to fraud concerns

Election officials in Georgia must certify results by the legally required date, a judge ruled Monday, saying they had no discretion to delay certification because of fraud concerns or other potential problems that could arise in the counting of votes.

Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney wrote in an order Monday that “Georgia election officials have a mandatory firm obligation to certify election results by November 12.”

The ruling came in a case filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County Board of Elections, who argued that board members had leeway in certification. She wrote in her complaint that she “could not fulfill her oath of office” if she did not have the authority to initiate a fraud investigation.

McBurney, who also presided over the Georgia grand jury that indicted Trump and others in 2023, wrote: “No election official (or member of an election and registration board) may under any circumstances refuse or refrain from certifying election results.”

The case was supported by the Trump-affiliated America First Policy Institute. During a court hearing on Oct. 1, Adams’ attorneys argued that election officials should be allowed to certify results that do not include batches of ballots that they are investigating for fraud.

McBurney said in his ruling that while local superintendents are required to “investigate miscount concerns,” they do not have the authority to investigate or detect fraud. Instead, any concerns they have should be referred to law enforcement, he wrote.

“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of State, the many district attorneys and the Attorney General are all better equipped and clearly empowered to take on the task of investigating and drawing consequences from election fraud. Superintendents do not have the authority to do this,” McBurney wrote.

Adams could not immediately be reached for comment. The verdict can be appealed.

Quentin Fulks, a spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, welcomed the ruling.

“One election after another, in one state after another, we have protected our elections from far-right Republicans trying to disrupt them, and Democrats remain ready to stand up and ensure every voter can cast their ballot, in knowing she matters,” Fulks said in a statement.

McBurney, the judge, is leading other challenges in the crucial swing state for the presidential election as Election Day approaches. On Tuesday morning he will hear arguments in a legal challenge new rules passed by the state election committee in September. Critics said the rules — including requiring a hand count of ballots — could delay the certification of the election.

A decision in this case is still pending.