Georgia judge rules election officials can't delay certification because of fraud concerns

Elections officials in Georgia have to certify results by the date required in state law, a judge ruled Monday, saying they have no discretion to delay certification because of fraud concerns or other potential issues that may arise as votes are being counted. 

Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney wrote in an order Monday that "election superintendents in Georgia have a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results" by Nov. 12.

The ruling came in a case filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County election board, who argued election board members had leeway around certification. She wrote in her complaint that she would be "unable to fulfill her oath of office" if not empowered to investigate for fraud.

McBurney, who also presided over the Georgia special purpose grand jury that recommended indicting Trump and others in 2023, wrote 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."

The case was supported by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. During an Oct. 1 bench trial, Adams' attorneys argued that election officials should be allowed to certify results that don't include batches of ballots they're investigating for fraud.

McBurney said in his ruling that while local superintendents have an obligation to "investigate concerns about miscounts," they are not empowered to investigate or determine fraud. Instead, any concerns they have should be forwarded 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 authorized to undertake the work of verifying election fraud and seeking consequences for it. Superintendents are not," McBurney wrote.

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

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

"Election after election, in state after state, we have protected our elections from far-right Republicans trying to disrupt them, and Democrats remain ready to stand up and make sure every voter can cast their ballot knowing it will count," Fulks said in a statement. 

McBurney, the judge, is presiding over other challenges in the crucial presidential election swing state as the Election Day nears. On Tuesday morning, he is hearing arguments in a challenge to new rules passed in September by the State Election Board. Critics have said the rules —  including a requirement for a hand count of ballots — could delay certification of the election.

A ruling in that case is pending.