Georgia lawmaker files complaint and calls for investigation into state election board members

ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – A group of Democratic lawmakers have called on Governor Brian Kemp to investigate three members of the state election board for keeping the public in the dark about controversial changes designed to help Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

State Rep. Nabilah Islam Parkes (D-Duluth), along with Fulton County Election Board Chair Kathy Woolard and others on Monday filed a complaint of ethics violations against the panel’s three Republican members.

It accuses them of passing laws that pander to Trump’s claims of voter fraud by giving partisan county-level election officials more power to delay the certification of votes starting in November. Some lawmakers and activists have raised concerns that the new rule could be weaponized by both political parties to throw the state’s election certification process into chaos.

“These individuals have intentionally taken actions that impede free and fair elections in our state,” Islam Parkes said during a press conference at the State Capitol on Monday. “The State Board of Elections does not exist to help Republicans win elections or to enrich its members.”

Islam Parkes was flanked by other Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), who called the fight a personal one for her.

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“What is happening in Georgia is nothing less than a concerted attempt to undermine democracy and set us back,” McBath said. “They are putting up obstacles to the vote count and the certification of the election so that Donald Trump can once again try to plunge our country into chaos.”

The complaint also alleges that the board, which is made up of the three Republican members in question, plus a Democrat and a bipartisan chair, failed to provide adequate notice to the public before adjusting the agenda for its July 12 meeting, nor did it provide adequate notice prior to the meeting.

“The room was filled with 300 people, so everyone knew it was a meeting,” said Garland Favorito, co-founder of the group Voter GA and a supporter of some of its recent actions.

“This is a lot of political theater to psychologically program the base of their supporters,” Favorito said of the ethics complaint. “The State Election Board has done nothing that is contrary to Georgia law.”

The complaint also points to the timing of the new rule changes: They came just weeks after Trump praised the three Republican members of the state election committee by name at a rally in Atlanta earlier this month.

“They’re on fire, they’re doing a great job,” Trump said at his rally on August 3. “Thank you very much, what a job.”

While the lawsuit asks Kemp to appoint an administrative law judge to oversee the hearings and investigations into the three GOP members, his office told Atlanta News First he may not have that authority.

“This office has received letters from Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes and others accusing members of the State Elections Board of Commissioners of Ethics violations,” a spokesperson for Kemp’s office said in a statement. “Due to uncertainty about whether this office has the authority to respond to these complaints under Code Section 45-10-4, we have sought advice from the Attorney General regarding the application of the law to the letters. We will respond upon receipt of that advice and further evaluation of the letters.”

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