Government watchdog organization American Oversight has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia State Election Board, accusing them of violating the Georgia Open Meetings Act. The lawsuit claims that conservative board members held a meeting on short notice on July 12 to advance election rule changes ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The lawsuit alleges that the board members failed to provide timely public notice, did not have enough members present to conduct business, and violated other rules.
The lawsuit also accuses the board members of trying to advance proposed rules that would increase the number of partisan poll watchers and burden election workers unnecessarily. Both the Republican and Democratic appointees of the board expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the meeting, with the Democrats not attending.
American Oversight’s executive director Chioma Chukwu emphasized the importance of government transparency in a functioning democracy and criticized the board members for trying to push through controversial proposals without proper notice. The lawsuit aims to block the final approval of the proposed election rules that could impact upcoming elections.
The plaintiffs claim that the meeting did not meet the requirements for a majority quorum and that the public should have been able to view a stream of the meeting online. The lawsuit also criticizes the board for not taking action after complaints were sent regarding the Open Meetings Act violations.
Sara Tindall Ghazal, the Democratic appointee, expressed frustration with her colleagues’ actions and emphasized the importance of upholding transparency in government proceedings. The lawsuit seeks to have the July 12 meeting declared illegal and to recover attorney fees and other expenses.
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