ATLANTA — The elected leaders of Georgia’s Fulton County voted Wednesday to delay a vote on whether to approve two previously rejected Republican nominees to the county election board.
The delay is the latest development in a saga that has played out since the Democratic majority on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners initially voted in May to reject the nominees. The county Republican Party sued, and a judge ordered the commissioners to vote to approve them, finding the board in contempt after they refused. A fine of $10,000 a day is on hold pending the commissioners’ appeal.
The commissioners voted Wednesday to table the matter while that process plays out. Their vote split 5-2 along party lines, with the five Democratic commissioners voting to table.
The five-person county election board is made up of a chair selected by the Board of Commissioners and two nominees each from the county Republican and Democratic parties who are then appointed by the commissioners. To be eligible, nominees must live in Fulton County, be registered to vote and cannot hold or be candidates for public office.
The Democrats on the Board of Commissioners said the actions of Republican nominees Julie Adams and Jason Frazier make them unsuitable.
Adams has served on the election board since February 2024. She abstained from certifying primary election results last year and unsuccessfully sued the election board seeking a ruling saying county officials can refuse to certify elections. Frazier has formally challenged the eligibility of thousands of Fulton County voters.
Adams’ term expired in June but she remains on the election board until she or a replacement is appointed to fill her seat.
Superior Court Judge David Emerson, who ruled that the law does not give commissioners the discretion to reject qualified nominees, and fined them for contempt.
The Democratic commissioners acknowledge that they have to appoint two Republican nominees, but argue that this doesn’t mean they have to appoint any nominee who’s put forth.
Before the vote Wednesday, Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said they had three options: to vote to approve the nominations, to vote to reject them or to table the matter while litigation plays out. The most prudent option, he said, was to table it.
“In our society, we resolve disagreements like this in a court of law and not in the court of public opinion,” he said.
Commissioner Bridget Thorne, a Republican, said the legal battle is costing taxpayer money, the fight over the nominations has galvanized the Republican Party, and any other nominee the party puts forth would be similar. She urged approval, pointing out that the two Republicans would be in a minority and are “never probably going to be able to pass anything.”
Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said he doesn’t believe the judge can tell him how to vote or force the board to approve the nominees.
“When the votes aren’t there, the nomination fails,” he said. “That is not dysfunction. That’s democracy.”
Arrington made clear that he would rather just vote to reject the nominees, but agreed to go along with the other Democrats and voted to table the issue.
