Three Republicans on the Georgia State Elections Board received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement for the second time in a week, this time after voting to reopen an investigation into the 2020 election despite a colleague warning them that their actions could be illegal.
Trump re-released a video of the portion of Wednesday’s committee meeting when the three Republican members overruled the one Democrat and the bipartisan chairman and voted to reopen the investigation.
“The Attorney General of Georgia MUST get moving on this. So must Governor Kemp and the Secretary of State. … WE MUST WIN GEORGIA IN 2024!!!” Trump commented above the video on Truth Social. On Saturday, at a campaign rally, Trump called out each of the three Republican board members by name, describing them as “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”
The Republican trio on the board recently came under criticism for quietly holding a meeting to adopt new election rules without their other two colleagues.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are both Republicans, but both refused to bow to Trump’s pressure to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state.
Concerns about illegality rejected
The Republican majority pushed for the reopening of the investigation, even though Kemp-appointed Georgia State Elections Board Chairman John Fervier warned that the move could be illegal. Democratic board member Sara Ghazal also voted against the move.
“I would like to point out to the panel that by adopting this motion, we are putting them in legal trouble,” Fervier said. “I want to make sure the Attorney General is aware of that,” he added.
Fervier said the panel has already heard hundreds – if not thousands – of cases, and trying to reopen this case would set a “terrible” precedent and a “never-ending scenario.”
But Republican board member Janice Johnston, who introduced the motion to reopen the investigation, said she believes the case was never closed.
“How many times have I been told not to do something because we could potentially get sued. I mean, if you had a drinking game, we’d all be drunk,” added Republican member Janelle King after the vote. She said the board should “not be afraid to take action because in some cases it’s just the right thing to do.”
The third supporting voice came from Rick Jeffares, a Republican caucus member who posted memes after the 2020 election “suggesting that dead people voted by mail, claiming that Democrats and China were in cahoots and implying that Democrats had cheated,” according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Investigation confirms: Biden won in Georgia
On May 7, Johnston voted against the original resolution of the issue, in which the board voted 2-1 to send Fulton County a reprimand and order the county to have an observer oversee the 2024 election. The county later agreed to that oversight.
That resolution followed a presentation the same day by State Department General Counsel Charlene McGowan, in which she said Fulton County “used improper procedures” in recounting the 2020 presidential election, but multiple recounts confirmed that Biden won the state.
The Georgia Attorney General’s office represents the Elections Committee and sometimes provides guidance on how its actions comply with the law, but Republican committee members appeared to be trying to separate that office from the reopening of the investigation.
Board member Johnston stated that she had communicated with additional legal counsel because she was concerned that the board’s regular attorney also represented the Georgia Secretary of State’s office and therefore there was “potential” a conflict of interest.
Previous complaint
American Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog, alleged in a lawsuit that the rules recently adopted by the Republican trio were unlawful because the meeting violated Georgia state law, which typically requires at least a week’s notice for agency meetings and a quorum of three people to appear in person, as well as public access to a conference call. According to the lawsuit, two members appeared in person, while Johnston joined via video.
The nonprofit organization said the trio ignored a warning from the state Attorney General’s Office that the meeting was likely illegal.
Republican members agreed to withdraw the rules after the lawsuit was filed. King told USA TODAY everything was done “within the bounds of the law as long as the majority of the board agreed to participate,” but “in the spirit of board unity,” they decided to revisit the issues at a later meeting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Trump continues to support Georgia state election board actions
