Fair Fight Applauds Major Victory for Voters and Democracy

Atlanta – Today, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously denied the Republican National Committee’s appeal to reinstate unconstitutional rules that were previously struck down by a Georgia court. The decision marks another monumental victory for Georgia voters, the rule of law, and the independence of our elections.

The rules, crafted by the MAGA-aligned majority of the Georgia State Election Board with the help of the Republican National Committee and election deniers who aided Trump’s plot to overturn the 2020 election, seemed designed to create chaos and sow doubt about the integrity of Georgia’s elections.

Lauren Groh-Wargo, Fair Fight CEO, issued the following statement:

"Today’s ruling is a huge win for Georgia voters and the rule of law. The rejection of the MAGA Election Board's unconstitutional rules sends a strong message: our elections cannot be manipulated to serve partisan interests. These rules are part of a larger election denier plot to undermine confidence in our elections, but once again, the courts have affirmed that the rule of law will prevail. This is a critical victory in the ongoing fight to protect independent elections."

The court’s decision upholds the ruling from another court last week, which struck down a series of the MAGA Election Board’s rule changes that included unconstitutional measures that could have disrupted vote counting, mandated hand-counting ballots which would slow down the electoral process and likely lead to errors, and empower election officials to refuse certification of election results based on flimsy conspiracy theories with no evidence. These rules were widely condemned by bipartisan officials, including Republicans like Georgia’s secretary of state, attorney general, former governor and lieutenant governor, and a ton of local election officials.

Background: Widespread Opposition to MAGA Election Board Rules: The judge’s ruling follows widespread opposition from a number of current and former Republican officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has called the MAGA board’s actions “activist rulemaking.” The Georgia State Election Board Chair, John Fervier, called out the MAGA board members' "hyper-partisanship" and said they abused their power. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr warned the board that their changes likely violated state law. The changes were condemned by a bipartisan group of local election officials, former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, and even former Republican Governor Nathan Deal.

Background: MAGA Election Sabotage Conspiracy: Reports have revealed months of email coordination between Georgia State Election Board member Dr. Janice Johnston, local Georgia election officials who support Trump’s Big Lie, and MAGA election deniers. The email correspondence revealed a secret effort to rewrite Georgia election certification rules, with direct coordination between Election Board members and Georgia Republican Party leaders, Republican National Committee operatives, and Trump-connected election deniers, even some that supported his failed attempts to steal the 2020 election.

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