Network of Georgia election officials strategizing to undermine 2024 result

[Nevilledog]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/18/trump-election-georgia

No paywall link
https://archive.li/066Ap

Emails obtained by the Guardian reveal a behind-the-scenes network of county election officials throughout Georgia coordinating on policy and messaging to both call the results of November’s election into question before a single vote is cast, and push rules and procedures favored by the election denial movement.

The emails were obtained by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) as a result of a public records request sent to David Hancock, an election denier and member of the Gwinnett county board of elections. Crew shared the emails with the Guardian.

Spanning a period beginning in January, the communications expose the inner workings of a group that includes some of the most ardent supporters of the former president Donald Trump’s election lies as well as ongoing efforts to portray the coming election as beset with fraud. Included in the communications are agendas for meetings and efforts to coordinate on policies and messaging as the swing state has once again become a focal point of the presidential campaign.

The communications include correspondence from a who’s who of Georgia election denialists, including officials with ties to prominent national groups such as the Tea Party Patriots and the Election Integrity Network, a group run by Cleta Mitchell, a former attorney who acted as an informal adviser to the Trump White House during its attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The group – which includes elections officials from at least five counties – calls itself the Georgia Election Integrity Coalition.

*snip*

[bullimiami]

1. DOJ should be charging them all with conspiracy to interfere in an election.

The proof is in the reporting.

[Think. Again.]

4. Yes, the doj SHOULD be.

[RT Atlanta]

2. conspiracy

Per Black's Law dictionary:

"a combination or confederacy between two or more persons formed for the purposes of committing, by their joint efforts, some unlawful or criminal act, or some at which is lawful in itself, but becomes unlawful when done by the concerted action of the conspirators, or for the purpose of using criminal or unlawful means to the commission of an act not in itself unlawful."

"They" the "republican" enablers ('cause those folks in GA sure as hell are NOT part of the Democratic party) really hate voting, democracy and will do whatever they can to stay in power.

If any of the participants in that 'coalition' are attorneys in GA, sharing this link below as FYI:

https://www.gabar.org/general-counsel/ethics---discipline

[lindysalsagal]

3. I sent it to Rachel. Thanks

[Amaryllis]

5. Do you have a good email to reach RAchel?

[lindysalsagal]

7. [e-mail]

[Silent Type]

6. I take some comfort in article like this today in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

""Election officials in Georgia and other states believe the courts will prevent local election boards from delaying or disrupting certification of the November election. Some local board members in Georgia have argued that it is up to them to certify election results, and some have voted against certifying recent elections. But election officials from Georgia, Michigan and New Mexico told reporters during a briefing on Monday that local boards are required to certify election results shortly after the election. And if those boards try to shirk that responsibility, they expect judges to step in.

"“Don’t be coy,” Gabe Sterling, the chief deputy to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, advised election officials across the country at Monday’s briefing. “Basically say, ‘If you try to do this, we’re going to bring the power of the courts against you.’” In Georgia and across the country, local boards meet to count ballots and certify the results of elections as part of a larger process of ensuring the accuracy of results. Until recently, those local votes were mundane affairs noted only by the most politically interested observers.

"At Monday’s briefing, election officials asserted that the law is settled: Local boards must certify the results after tallying the votes. And they expect judges to affirm that position. “The law is clear, and we will enforce it,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told reporters. That doesn’t mean there won’t be attempts to delay or deny certification of the hotly contested presidential election. And Republicans might not be the only ones objecting. David Becker, executive director for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Election Innovation & Research, said he believes Democrats also may challenge the results."

https://www.ajc.com/politics/election/the-courts-will-prevent-local-election-boards-in-georgia-from-disrupting-the-certification-of-the-election-officials-say/T5XKHGTLLBACDH5CHXKNPRU2WY/

The impression I get from reading other articles is that at least in Georgia the counties have to certify the election by November 20.

""Fortunately, election certification is not optional or up for debate. After vote totals are tabulated at the precinct-level, Georgia county election officials certify that the totals are mathematically accurate and send the final results to the secretary of state, who then does the same for the statewide results.

""Certification is a routine administrative task where election officials determine and publish the official final vote tally, akin to the period at the end of a sentence. Certifying election results is a ministerial task — meaning that it is a mandatory duty, and officials do not have the authority to reject election results. . . . . .

""If election officials in Georgia or elsewhere do not complete their legal duty to certify election results, they will likely be sued. If this happens, courts should move quickly to address refusals to certify and require officials to complete their obligatory duties — just as they did in 2022 in Arizona and New Mexico.

https://campaignlegal.org/update/can-georgias-election-board-refuse-certify-results-law-says-no

Obviously, it might not workout this way, but Democrats have lawyers too and probably better ones the GOPers.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. K&R