United States: A judge in Georgia has made a new ruling with just weeks left to the presidential election that certification of election results by county officials in the state is “mandatory.”
A new ruling is expected to be welcomed by election experts, given increasing concerns that some election officials could refuse to certify results after the election as they continue to make allegations of fraud or error.
More about the news
As per the order, “Election superintendents in Georgia have a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results,” ABC News reported.
Judge Robert McBurney, who is an important part of an ongoing election case, has sought that the law apparently state, “the superintendent must certify and must do so by a certain time.”
“There are no exceptions,” he stated in the Monday night ruling.
The ruling came following Georgia’s controversial State Election Board’s rule, which stated that some of the voting rights activists were about who would cause disturbance in the certification process.
As one of the rules suggests, that also allowed election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” prior to certification.
In particular, McBurney’s order on Monday addressed the fact that certification by the county superintendents is mandatory even in a situation when fraud or error is suspected.
What more have the officials stated?
As per McBurney, “While the superintendent must investigate concerns about miscounts and must report those concerns to a prosecutor if they persist after she investigates, the existence of those concerns, those doubts, and those worries is not cause to delay or decline certification,” ABC News reported.
“That is simply not an option for this particular ministerial function in the superintendent’s broader portfolio of functions,” he added.
Moreover, as a whole, McBurney pointed out that the election officials should clearly certify the results. However, the report concerning the authorities stated, “And if in the course of her canvassing, counting, and investigating a superintendent should discover what appears to her to be fraud or systemic error, she still must count all votes — despite the perceived fraud — and report her concerns about fraud or error to the appropriate district attorney,” as the judge cited.