The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party filed a lawsuit to ensure Georgia election law is properly followed for the January 5 runoff election.
The lawsuit demands that poll watchers be allowed to do their jobs as permitted under Georgia law, and safeguards in the law for ballot “drop boxes” are upheld, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the Republican National Committee.
The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County. The complaint is available here.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said, “While we continue to fight multiple cases of election irregularities from the general election, we also must fight to ensure they never happen again. Election laws need to be properly followed so Americans can have confidence in the results. This lawsuit seeks to force Georgia election officials to simply follow the laws on their books as they pertain to poll watchers and drop boxes. We will never stop fighting to ensure free and fair elections in our country.”
Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer said, “We must restore confidence in the integrity of our elections. The time for begging elections officials to do their job and obey the law is over.”
During the November 3 general election and recount, the legal right of political party committees to appoint poll watchers to observe the process was abridged in various polling and tabulation locations across Georgia. This lawsuit attempts to force Georgia election officials to properly enforce the law so this does not happen again for the January 5 runoff.
The suit also demands the state clarify rules promulgated by the Georgia State Election Board to ensure drop boxes are properly secured and surveilled. Laws pertaining to drop boxes were not properly followed during the November 3 general election, the plaintiffs said, and the suit demands that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger promptly prepare and distribute materials and guidance instructing the continuous video surveillance of all drop box locations.
The RNC said it has spent tens of millions of dollars over the last two years funding legal efforts in multiple states for election integrity across the country.
Drop-boxes will have cost President Donald Trump the election if Joe Biden wins Georgia, pointing to the state’s most important concern for the Senate runoffs, Pollster John McLaughlin said in an exclusive statement this weekend to The Georgia Star News.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.
