At the third meeting of a House study committee dedicated to examining Georgia’s election procedures, state legislators sought testimony from the State Election Board, a panel tasked with overseeing cases involving potential violations of election laws and issuing nonpartisan guidance to help elections run more smoothly.
The goal? To repair the fraying relationship between the board and the secretary of state’s office.
It’s no secret that the board has been facing internal divisions in recent years. Last year, the little-known board gained national attention after President Donald Trump — who falsely stated that the election was stolen from him in Georgia and several other swing states — praised three members of the board at a campaign rally who attempted to implement election rule changes that could have benefitted Trump. Those changes were invalidated ahead of the 2024 election by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr., who said members of the board were illegally usurping legislative authority.
More recently, board member Janelle King has come under fire for serving as a board member as her husband campaigns for secretary of state.
Though the board has resumed hearing elections cases this year rather than promulgating election rules, its current members frequently cast votes along party lines, and public meetings are often openly antagonistic.